


Beam me up, Hottie

by lasersheith



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Minor Antok/Kolivan (Voltron), Minor Sven/Romelle, Slow Burn, author projects entire life onto shiro instead of matt for once, blink and you miss it Matt/Lotor, fanartist keith, fanfic writer shiro, if any of you @ me about trek ship wars... i s2g, keith's dad is alive and they're a happy family shhh, minor pidge/hunk, tattoo artist keith, this accidentally turned into a kid fic my b
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2019-08-26 04:57:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16674931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasersheith/pseuds/lasersheith
Summary: Shiro’s life is kind of a mess. His job sucks and his best friends are moving across the country back to their hometown. All he really has is Star Trek until the Big Bang pairs him with an artist that just might change everything.“Do you remember that event I told you about?” His voice came out barely above a whisper.Laughing again, Matt sat his sandwich down. “You mean your totally-not-porn writing competition?”Shiro groaned. “It's not porn,” he hissed out quietly, “and it's not a competition, it's just an event.” He said, looking up into Matt's judgmental eyes. “Look, you own 6 replica anime swords. It's literally illegal for you to judge me for anything, ” he pointed an accusing finger at Matt's chest.Matt held up his hands in mock surrender. “Ok, ok. So what about your event thing?”Shiro looked back down at his phone with an awed smile. “I got paired with my favorite artist…” He answered wistfully.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is for the sheith prompt party on tumblr! I had so much fun with this, big thank you to the organizers of the event!
> 
> prompt is a minor spoiler but y'all know i'm a sap so it's ok:
>
>> fic writer shiro and fanartist keith collaborate in a big bang and they become very close and move across the country to live together 

Shiro's phone beeped, alerting him to the email he'd been waiting for all morning. “More fan mail for your Star Trek erotica?” Matt asked with a smirk around his mouthful of sandwich.

Shiro didn't bother defending himself, he was too busy staring at the words on the screen. Flushing from his collar to the tips of his ears, Shiro slapped his prosthetic hand over his mouth, wincing as he accidentally gave himself a swollen lip.

“Yeah that's definitely not the face of a weird, repressed nerd looking at porn. For sure.” Matt said sarcastically, laughing at Shiro's reaction.

“Do you remember that event I told you about?” His voice came out barely above a whisper.

Laughing again, Matt sat his sandwich down. “You mean your totally-not-porn writing competition?”

Shiro groaned. “It's _not_ porn,” he hissed out quietly, “and it's not a competition, it's just an event.” He said, looking up into Matt's judgmental eyes. “Look, you own 6 replica anime swords. It's literally illegal for you to judge me for _anything,_ ” he pointed an accusing finger at Matt's chest.

Matt held up his hands in mock surrender. “Ok, ok. So what about your event thing?”

Shiro looked back down at his phone with an awed smile. “I got paired with my favorite artist…” He answered wistfully.

Matt held his hands in his face and took a moment to collect himself. “Wow you… wow. You know what? I have a meeting in an hour and I need to get ready for it, so…” He stood up from the table and gathered his trash, leaving the cafeteria without looking back.

Rolling his eyes, Shiro stared back down at the screen. Butterflies erupted in his stomach as he read the email again. He was really working with thunderstorm-darkness-official.

He looked around quickly before navigating to the artist’s blog. The header read simply “ask box is closed” and his description, as always, read “K | 18+ | he | leave me alone.”

Shiro smiled at the familiar dark theme, it reminded him of the night sky. He'd spent an embarrassing number of hours on K’s blog and knew that even though K said it was closed, his ask box was almost always open.

Tapping the mail icon, Shiro started typing a message, letting him know they were partnered and how excited he was to be working together. Just as he was about to hit send, his phone buzzed in his hands- alerting him to a friend request on discord.

He swiped down and hit accept when he saw K’s icon was the same as his tumblr, swearing under his breath as he noticed the time. He shoveled the rest of his chicken into his mouth and tried to focus on the engine design he was about to present in his meeting, but his thoughts strayed back to his artist. _Do I call him by his username? Or just K? Or… wait for him to talk to me?_

Power walking by his desk for his notebook, Shiro resolved to put it out of his mind until 5 and focus on work. As usual, his coworkers tore apart his updates and half of the design team didn’t show, so Shiro had to reschedule the meeting for a 3rd time in as many days.

The remainder of Friday afternoon seemed to crawl by, vivid fantasies of spending the entire weekend holed up in his living room working on the event were the only things keeping him in his uncomfortable desk chair. He only managed to make it until 3:30 before peering around his cubicle wall to pull out his phone and see if K had messaged him.

t-storm: hey glad to be working with you

Shiro swallowed hard at the words on his screen. The message had been sent shortly after his lunch hour.

trekashi: Same! I’m a big fan of your work, I'm so glad you picked my fic :)

He responded hastily, hitting send before he could lose his nerve.

His chest felt like it was vibrating with the rapid pounding of his heart as _"t-storm is typing..."_ flashed at the bottom of the app.

t-storm: it sounded really cool, i love your stuff tbh. do you have an outline or whatever yet?

Shiro's mouth went dry, he couldn't believe what he'd just read. _He loves my stuff._ Locking his screen, he stared at the drab gray wall of his cubicle for a long moment to collect himself. After a beat, he craned his head around the entrance again before opening his fic folder and copying the link. The last thing he needed was the jerks at his job finding out about his hobby.

trekashi: I've been mulling this one over for a while, so it's pretty scattered. I'll clean it up this weekend and we can start working on stuff whenever you're free.

Shiro almost added another smiling face, but deleted it at the last second. Matt always made fun of him for his enthusiasm for emojis.

t-storm: Cool, gotta go to work now, but I'll be around tonight. Mind if I pick your brain about a couple things on the outline?

trekashi: Sounds good! I'll be around until 12 or so est

t-storm: Sucks! I'm on pacific

trekashi: :(

t-storm: We'll figure it out. Ttyl

Shiro debated for another 10 minutes about whether or not to wish K a good day at work, but by the time he'd decided on how to word it, it felt too awkward to reply at all. He locked his phone screen again and got back to work on the schematic looming over his head, the excitement of the event buzzing through him as he faced the last of his workday.

He submitted his completed schematic, sure his boss would hate it and he’d have to redo it again, but it seemed less soul-crushing with a distraction waiting for him at home. He did his best to ignore the strangers bumping into him on the overcrowded sidewalks and the weird smells that always seemed to stick to the inside of the trains, instead planning and plotting and outlining in his head. As soon as he was home, he sat down on the couch and booted up his laptop, loading discord and heading right to his chat with K.

trekashi: hey K, just got home from work. have you had a chance to look at the outline yet?

Shiro knew he was probably busy at work still because of the time difference, so he opened his outline to start tidying it up. A smile bloomed across his face as he saw the dozens of comments K had left during his own work day, asking questions, leaving strings of enthusiastic emojis at certain plot points, and offering advice where Shiro had left question marks. Just as he’d finished reading them, the sharp, trilling beep of an incoming message stole his attention away from the document.

t-storm: Yeah, left some comments

t-storm: Good stuff

Shiro beamed at the praise, thrilled K had spent time at work to go through it in such detail.

trekashi: thanks! :D hope i didn’t distract you from work too bad

A sketch appeared in the chat, a large lion’s head that looked almost like origami with the edges and spikes of the mane and facial features, all seemingly connected except the dots for whiskers on its mouth.

trekashi: whoa!! that’s awesome! do you do art professionally?

t-storm: I do tattoos

t-storm: Been a slow day so i’m sketching a bunch for a regular

Shiro took a deep breath and let it out slowly. _He’s… a tattoo artist,_ his brain unhelpfully supplied alongside a high-pitched static noise that destroyed any hope of coherent thought.

trekashi: wow that’s so cool!

t-storm: It’s pretty fun

His cursor blinked at the bottom of the screen mockingly as he desperately tried to think of something else to say. K put him out of his misery after a long moment.

t-storm: Got an appt here in 10 so I’ll be afk for a while

trekashi: ok cool, i have a friend coming over in a bit so that works

trekashi: i hope the tattoo goes well!

t-storm: Thanks :D

They spent the next few minutes chatting back and forth about Shiro’s outline and what scenes K was considering sketching based on what they had so far. He’d been excited for the event before, but having K to bounce ideas off of had him vibrating off the couch.   

Right as K messaged him that he had to get ready for his appointment, Shiro’s front door began to jiggle- announcing Matt letting himself in with the spare key like he always did. "Hey nerd! I brought pizza!" He called from the door, kicking off his shoes.

Cheeks red, Shiro slid his laptop closed a few inches and chuckled uncomfortably as Matt set the box on his coffee table. With a heavy sigh, Matt plopped down next to him and pulled a slice out, shoving half of it into his mouth.

Shiro wrinkled his nose at the display and picked up a piece as well. "Rough day?" He asked, taking a much more reasonably sized bite.

Matt nodded as he chewed, gulping down the cheesy mess and wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve. "Yeah, I just talked to Pidge," he trailed off and frowned before tearing another huge chunk off with his teeth.

"Is she ok?" Shiro's brows furrowed with worry.

Matt threw his head back against the cushions and groaned. "She just got an offer for this super cool job all the way in California." He explained, licking at a trail of grease running down his wrist. "I'm super happy for her, but I'm bummed, too. I'm gonna miss the little dork."

Shiro nodded. "Sven was pretty upset when I moved out here, but we still talk on the phone and stuff," he offered as consolation, reaching out with his prosthetic to pat Matt's shoulder. "Is it close to where he lives? I'm sure he'd love to show her around and look out for her if you're worried."

Tossing his head to the side, Matt looked up at him with a cringe. "Would you hate me forever if I tried to jump ship, too?"

The words hit Shiro like a truck; he hadn't lived further than down the hall from Matt since sophomore year of college. "Of course not," he assured. Shiro knew he could never hate Matt, but he and Pidge were the only things keeping him on the East Coast to begin with.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a long moment, both lost in his own head. Matt cleared his throat first, drawing Shiro's eyes, and nodded towards his laptop. "How's your Trekkie porn friend? They as cool as you thought?"

Shiro rolled his eyes and laughed. "He's awesome, actually," Shiro replied smugly, opening his laptop and waking up the black screen.

He clicked on the picture K had sent him, showing off the tattoo design. "He's a tattoo artist! Look at how awesome his work is!"

Matt nodded, clearly impressed. "Hey, when your little contest thing is over, he can tattoo "live long and prosper" on your ass!"

Shiro clenched his jaw and glared before grabbing the nearest pillow and shoving it in Matt's face. Matt squawked as he tried to fend off Shiro's assault and keep breathing through the fabric and the laughter shaking his shoulders. "Come on! You can get matching nerd friend tattoos!"

The pillow pushed harder into his face. "This can be over any time you want," Shiro replied, not taking the bait.

"Ok, ok. I'm sorry," Matt wheezed. Shiro let up the pressure on the pillow squashing him down against the cushions. "You should get something tasteful. Like the Enterprise. Much classier."

Shiro groaned and picked the pillow up before swinging it down onto Matt's head again. Matt flailed and writhed as he laughed. "Maybe I'll ask him to give you a Naruto one! Right on your stupid forehead so everyone knows what a dork you are!" He punctuated every few syllables with another swat of the pillow.

Matt had finally had enough, holding up his hands in a T shape. "Ok, we're both dweebs. Truce," he begged breathlessly.

Shiro smirked and set the pillow down next to him. "Deal."

With a disgruntled scoff, Matt grabbed another slice of pizza and gestured to the TV. "What are we watching? And if you say Trek I swear I'll spit on every single piece in that box."

Shiro set his laptop on his thighs and handed Matt the remote. "I don't care, you pick."

It was always a dangerous game, letting Matt choose their entertainment for their weekly TV and pizza binges, and Shiro groaned as he eventually decided on _Prince of Tennis._ By the third episode they were both so invested that Shiro had given up any pretense of working on his fic and decided to shut down his laptop for the night.

He caught up with K the next afternoon and his daydreams of spending the whole weekend working on the project came to fruition. They spent hours chatting about the fic, the fandom, and getting to know each other. Shiro had never been so excited for an event in his life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took longer than i thought! holiday traveling messed up my flow lol.

trekashi: Hey Kevin

Shiro glared at dots at the bottom of his screen as K typed.

t-storm: still no

t-storm: you tried that last week

Swearing under his breath, Shiro pulled up _babynames.com_ and selected the letter K.

trekashi: I'm gonna find out what K is short for

trakashi: Kaiden

t-storm: definitely not

trekashi: Kenneth

t-storm: nope

Shiro groaned. He felt like he'd guessed every K name in existence over the past few weeks.

trekashi: does your name even start with a K

t-storm ;)))))

trekashi: what if I tell you my real name?

t-storm: ;)))))

trekashi: you're so mean, Keith :(

He laughed at his own dumb joke and pulled up K's latest sketches, trying to decide how and where to work the scenes into the parts of the fic he hadn't yet written.

t-storm: ............

Blinking in shock, Shiro grinned and pumped a fist in the air.

trekashi: KEITH

trekashi: I FINALLY DID IT

K didn't say anything for an agonizing few minutes and Shiro was worried he'd offended him.

trekashi: it's a good name

trekashi: my real name is Takashi btw

He debated telling K to call him Shiro like everyone else did, but he wasn't sure he wanted to give his full name to someone who was still practically a stranger, no matter how many countless hours they’d spent talking over the past few weeks. He replied before Shiro could give it more thought.

t-storm: did you really just take part of your name and add "trek" to it...

trekashi: ...maybe so.gif

t-storm: XD

trekashi: shut up KEITH >:(

t-storm: whatever, lucky guess

t-storm: im still calling you kashi

trekashi: that works :)

Plenty of people online called him by his username, but the diminutive seemed somehow more intimate, more personal. It was nice in a way that eluded him.

trekashi: anyway, I looked at the sketches you put in the drive. Care if I bounce some ideas?

t-storm: go for it

The hours flew by while they discussed the drawings and the fic, breaking only for Keith to send a picture of his gigantic dog trying to squeeze onto his lap like he wouldn't notice. It hit Shiro all once as his eyes tore over the picture; Keith's legs seemed to go on for miles in the loose athletic shorts he wore and the forearm leading to the hand buried in the fur of the dog's neck was lean and muscular. He was desperate to see Keith's face, sure he'd be absolutely gorgeous.

Shiro minimized the discord window, mortified at his reaction. _Get it together,_ he scolded himself.

trekashi: let him sit with you, you monster!!!

t-storm: fine

He wasn't sure what to make of Keith's response until a few minutes later when another picture popped up in the chat.

t-storm: happy?

Shiro clapped his hand over his mouth, filled with equal parts regret, gratefulness and pain from another fat lip, only just barely able to keep himself from gasping out loud. Keith had pulled the dog up on his lap and taken a picture with his webcam instead of his phone. The dog was far too big to sit there comfortably, but he snuggled up to Keith's chest, letting Keith hook his chin over the top of his head. Keith's smile was as blinding as it was soft and Shiro couldn't help getting lost in his impossibly deep blue eyes.

He realized he'd been silent for far too long and scrambled for something to say.

trekashi: what's his name?

t-storm: Kosmo :)

trekashi: tell Kosmo I love him T_T

t-storm: he says, and i quote

t-storm: woof

trekashi: a;lskjdf

Shiro held his sides as he laughed, ribs protesting. He cringed as he noticed the time at the bottom of his computer screen.

trekashi: I gotta go to bed :c

t-storm: BOO

t-storm: i gotta work tomorrow morning, keep going after?

trekashi: sounds good :)

t-storm: sweet

t-storm: night

trekashi: good night :)

Shiro smiled to himself as he logged out. His heart was still hammering in his chest. _This is fine,_ he coached himself as he got ready for bed. _Just because he's even more gorgeous than his art and I know his name now and we talk constantly and he calls me a cutesy nickname that doesn't mean it's not fine._

His evening routine went by in a haze and he couldn’t stop himself from logging back into discord on his phone to look at the picture again. Wincing as his swollen lip slid through his teeth, Shiro’s thumb hovered over the _download_ button for a long moment. All it took was another long glance at Keith’s soft smile and Shiro let his thumb fall, stomach doing jumping jacks.

With one more lingering gaze, Shiro locked his phone and closed his eyes. Facing the next day at work somehow seemed easier than it had before, and Shiro faded off to sleep without trouble.

* * *

The past few weeks hadn't been kind to Shiro, but he'd been holding onto  _ looking on the bright side  _ as desperately as he could. The awful project he’d been saddled with at work had fallen into his lap the same week his team up with Keith had been made official. It was a grueling emotional rollercoaster. The big bang, his newfound friendship, and a positive attitude were the only things keeping his head above water in any capacity. As yet another week drew to a close, he found himself barely hanging on.

The first few hours of Friday morning had almost been pleasant; there were the usual irritations, but Shiro's design had finally been approved after _eight_ resubmittals, no one had interrupted or spoken over him in the status meeting, and Keith had been up early for an appointment that had turned into a no-show so they'd been chatting back and forth a little bit. It was the best morning he'd had at work in recent memory.

But just after 10am his desk phone rang, summoning him into his boss's office, where the day quickly began to snowball downhill. He was still angry about the news hours later when he sat down for lunch with Matt.

“Ok nerd, spill it,” Matt demanded, tossing a grape towards his face and frowning as it bounced off of his cheek and rolled under the table. “What's got yon pantaloons in such a twist?”

Shiro rolled his eyes at Matt's antics and shrugged, stabbing at his salad hard enough to snap his plastic fork and send the tines flying. A gentle hand reached across the table and landed on top of Shiro's prosthetic. “Dude. Seriously, what's up?”

He sat the mangled fork down on his napkin and sighed. “Sanda made me lead engineer on that stupid design.” Shiro's teeth were gritted so hard it made Matt's jaw hurt just looking at him.

“Isn't that a good thing?” Matt asked, slipping his unused fork into Shiro's bowl.

Shiro nodded gratefully and took a much calmer bite of his lunch as he considered how to answer. “Normally it would be,” he looked up at Matt with a deep frown. “But the prototype schedule is nuts and the client is _the worst_.”

Matt grimaced in sympathy. “Who is it?” The vein jutting out of Shiro's neck gave him a pretty clear indication.

“Slav,” Shiro confirmed, voice dripping with malice.

With an exaggerated fake-vomiting sound, Matt doubled over on the bench and flopped across the wood. “Dude I am _so_ sorry,” he groaned, sitting back up. “I legit have a countdown app on my phone set for the day my project with his company ships.”

One side of Shiro's mouth ticked up into a sad smile. “You'll be gone before then, right?”

Matt's mouth twisted into an O shape before widening into a grin. “Yes! Yes I will!” He pumped his fist in the air triumphantly. “Shiro you just made my whole day, I could kiss you!”

Shiro gave him a blank, unimpressed stare as he dramatically puckered his lips. “Or you could just buy breadsticks for tonight and we'll call it good.”

“Deal!” Matt gave him a thumbs up and pulled out his phone to change the date of his _Never Have To Talk To Slav Again_ countdown.

The rest of lunch was awkward for Shiro. He tried to keep his malcontent from being too visible, not wanting to put a damper on Matt's good mood, but the more he thought about it, the more his anger and sadness roiled in his gut and the harder it was to keep the frown off of his face. 5pm felt like it would never arrive while he slogged through more meetings and emails.

Shiro never let himself check his fandom email at work, too embarrassed of what his co-workers might say if they just happened to look over his shoulder, but it was always the first thing he did when he sat down on the train home. He beamed as he saw several pages of notifications.

 _Did someone put me on a rec list or something?_ Scrolling to the bottom for the first unread message, his heart sank.

“Mckirk is garbage and so is this story. Delete your account.”

Gritting his teeth, he deleted the comment and moved on to the next one, and the next, and then the next. It was all more of the same. Locking his screen, he pinched the bridge of his nose and counted slowly to ten.

When he was finished, he turned off anonymous comments and turned on comment moderation, but the damage was already done. The rest of Shiro’s ride home was agonizing; every bump in the tracks that sent a stranger brushing against him felt like a punch to the stomach as he deleted the rest of the garbage spilling from his inbox. By the time he got to his apartment, his jaw was sore and his head was throbbing.

He briefly entertained the idea of smashing his ceramic key bowl into the floor just to watch it break, but decided against it when the realization that he’d just have to clean it up and get a new one or end up losing his keys came to him. Setting his keys in the bowl gently, he filled a glass of water and took a few aspirin before changing into his sweatpants and oversized hoodie.

 _If I have to be pissed, I can at least be comfortable. Not like Matt’s gonna judge._ The thought of spending an entire evening pretending like everything was fine seemed far too daunting.

Shiro pulled out his phone and thought about canceling, but he knew he only had a few weeks left with his friend and groaned, deciding on a compromise instead.

Shiro: Can you come over later? I need to pout for a while.

Top10AnimeBetrayal: Is 8 good? I can stifle the obnoxiousness for 20 minutes if u wanna talk

Shiro: 8 works. I’m just being dumb, no big deal.

Shiro _did_ want to talk about it, but not with Matt. The friendly jibes at his hobby were nothing new, and mostly didn’t bother him anymore, but Matt wouldn’t understand why he was so upset. His laptop powered on and he opened discord reflexively. _Keith would understand,_ he mused, cursor hovering over the server they’d made to keep themselves organized in between all the day-to-day chatting they’d been doing.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he clicked on the #whatever channel and started typing.

trekashi: hey are you busy?

The indicator showed that Keith was online, but he didn’t respond right away. Shiro busied himself turning anonymous questions off on his blog like he’d done on ao3 while he was riding home and deleting the swarm of hateful messages he found waiting for him there. He clicked back as soon as he heard the distinctive, irritating noise of a new message.

t-storm: a little bit, gotta finish this design for work today. what’s up?

He paused before replying, warring with the desire for reassurance and not wanting to keep Keith from his job.

trekashi: it’s nbd, just had a rough day and wanted to bitch

t-storm: get on voice, i can listen while i draw

trekashi: i don’t wanna distract you

t-storm: too late, already distracted. can’t finish until i know what’s wrong

t-storm: ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Shiro smiled fondly to himself before pulling on his headset and connecting to the channel. He cleared his suddenly dry throat as he realized he’d never actually heard Keith’s voice before.

“Who do I have to stab?”

Somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind, a record scratched. _It figures he has a voice like an angel,_ Shiro mused. He sighed, letting the tension drop from his shoulders.

"I just got a couple bad comments on my favorite fic and my job is really kicking my ass lately,” he blurted before he could stop himself. “It's, it’s not that a big of deal," he added, stammering.

It seemed silly to be so worked up over something so minor, but with everything else in his life piled on, it felt horrible.

"What the fuck, which one?" Keith practically growled in his ear.

The thought of the harsh words still stung. "Moon in my Sky," Shiro replied a beat later when his voice felt more level.

"Hang on." He heard shuffling in the background and squinted as a picture came through in the main channel. Zooming in, he clapped a hand over his mouth to stifle a gasp. "Read it so many times, thought I might as well print it out. Pretty much lives on my nightstand."

Shiro could hardly breathe through the lump in his throat as he tried to swallow it down. "Keith," he all but whispered.

"Seriously who was it? I'm great at mean caricatures and not above a little light murder."

Shiro wanted to laugh, but tears pricked the corners of his eyes as they roved over the photo. The pages were wrinkled, worn around the edges and the bundle had been stapled at least three times from what he could see. He sniffled, eyes widening at the speaker symbol as it lit up before hastily muting his mic.

"Kashi, are you," Keith's voice came soft and tentative through his headphones. "Are you crying?"

Shiro clicked on the message bar and typed out a hasty response.

trekashi: NO

trekashi: MAYBE

trekashi: YES, A LOT

Keith's laughter had his chest squeezing even tighter until he was sure his lungs would burst. "It's a good cry though, right?"

trekashi: YEAH

"Good," Keith murmured.

The chat was quiet for a long moment as Shiro wiped his eyes and blew his nose. He was just about to unmute himself when Keith spoke up again. "Really though, I'll kill them. Just give me the names."

Shiro hit unmute and let out a shuddering half-laugh half-sob. "Thank you, Keith. Really. It means a lot to me."

"Course." The silence stretched between them for a long, awkward moment. "You gonna be ok if I sign off for a bit? Still be on chat just not voice."

Shiro cleared his throat. "Yeah, of course. I'm fine," he chuckled awkwardly. "We'll talk later, though?" His heart raced as he waited for Keith to answer.

"Yeah," he answered just a few seconds later, though they took an eternity in Shiro's mind. "Should be back before you have to go to bed. I'll let you know."

They said their goodbyes and left the voice channel, but Shiro left the chat window active as he pulled up the story. He reread the whole thing from the beginning and made a few minor edits for silly typos that he’d missed, but found himself drawn back into the world he’d borrowed and recreated. By the time Matt came over, he was in much better spirits.


	3. Chapter 3

"And then this other guy was like  _ why do you think they call him Bones?"  _ Shiro couldn't finish the entire sentence without dissolving into a fit of giggles, setting Keith off far more than the joke warranted on the other end of the mic. After a few moments, he finally calmed himself and scrubbed a sleeve over his watering eyes. "I'm telling you, K, you gotta join  _ Starfleet Command,  _ it's so much fun."

Keith scoffed. "Not good with big servers. Too much drama, too much to follow."

"That's fair, I guess," Shiro conceded with a frown. "But if you ever get the urge, we'd love to have you." He winced at his choice of words, thankful they weren't on video.

He could almost feel Keith rolling his eyes. "Yeah I'm sure," he deadpanned. "Anyway, check out the pic I just posted in the not-bang channel. Kosmo got his head stuck in my sweater." Keith was the one setting Shiro off in a torrent of laughter as he clicked on the image.

"Oh my god, he's adorable," Shiro wheezed. It was far from the first picture of Kosmo he'd seen, but it was definitely his favorite so far. He looked confused and scared with his head poking out the sleeve of Keith's hoodie, but Shiro could see the blur where his tail was wagging at Keith's reaction as he snapped the picture.

Keith excused himself to free the dog from his self-imposed prison. Shiro warred within himself for a moment before ultimately saving the picture off to the password protected folder buried deep in the archives of his computer. It sat at the top of the list of photos Keith had sent him over the past few months. Just as Keith returned, Shiro felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.

"Shit, it's my brother. Sorry I gotta take this." He sat his headset down on the desk at Keith's hum of acknowledgement and answered the phone.

"Hey Sven, what's up?" He tried to sound cheerful instead of guilty, it had been weeks since they'd last spoken.

"Hey, Tak. I know you're probably busy. Ellie and I are trying to plan Christmas and we were wondering if you were coming home?"

Shiro cringed; He wanted more than anything to be home for the holidays. "I'm so sorry, I have some stupid work thing in Chicago before and after Christmas and they're only giving me the day-of off." The news broke his own heart just as much as he was sure it broke his brother's.

A heavy sigh crackled over the line. "Takashi... you need a new job."

"You're telling me," he muttered. "I'll definitely be home for our birthday, though. And I'll even be able to stay through AJ's."

His heart hammered in his throat as the silence stretched on for too long. "That's great news." Sven's tone was flat and the placation clearly didn't appease his disappointment like Shiro had been hoping. "I'll tell Ellie as soon as I get home, she'll be thrilled."

Shiro cleared his throat. "Good, yeah. Give AJ a kiss for me."

"Will do."

"Love yo-" The line clicked off before he could finish saying goodbye. Shiro sighed, staring at the blank phone screen before putting it down to pick the headset back up. 

"Hey sorry about that, family holiday planning and whatnot," Shiro said with a laugh as he picked up his headset.

"Sounds like your job blows." Shiro's stomach plummeted at Keith's reply.

He swallowed hard. "Oh I, I meant to hit mute." He cringed at the way his voice crackled.

All he could hear for a few seconds was the sound of Keith working on his computer. "No big, I tried not to eavesdrop too much. Anyway is your brother's actual name Sven? How does that work with  _ Takashi?" _

Shiro laughed at the question, it was one he got often enough growing up. "My dad is Japanese and my mom is Norwegian, so... when we popped out as twins they didn't have to fight over whose culture to honor or whatever."

Keith chuckled at the explanation. "Makes sense I guess. 'S cool that you have a twin, though. I'm an only child, always wanted a brother."

"Yeah, he's ok, I guess." They both laughed. "No, Sven and his wife, Romelle, are great. They have a 4 year old and she's the absolute best."

The other end of the line was quiet for a long moment. "Yeah, kids are... cool I guess," Keith murmured so softly Shiro almost didn't hear him.

"AJ's the sweetest kid I've ever met, and she's a little spitfire. I wish I could introduce you, she's quite the little artist."

Keith chuckled and Shiro heard Kosmo bark in the background. "Yeah? Maybe she can give me some tips," he teased. Shiro was about to reply when Kosmo barked again. "Sorry, I gotta take this menace out for a walk."

Shiro glanced down at the clock, 10:06. "I should probably get to bed anyway."

"Boo," Keith groaned. "I'll talk to you tomorrow?" 

"Yeah definitely," Shiro murmured, smiling fondly. Keith had ended most of their conversations in the same way, always a question about when they'd talk again. It never failed to send butterflies erupting in his stomach.

Kosmo yipped excitedly in the background. "Sweet. G'Night, Kashi."

Shiro swallowed past the lump in his throat. "Good night, Keith." His mouse hovered over the logout screen for a brief moment before he gathered his wits enough to click it.

* * *

The next few weeks went by in a blur of stressful meetings followed by long evenings staying up far too late talking to Keith and working on their Big Bang pieces. Shiro had been excited before they were paired, but every sketch Keith showed him fueled his writing a step above what he'd ever thought himself capable of.

Waking up on Christmas day in a shabby motel room did little to fill him with holiday cheer. The testing he was supposed to oversee was going terribly, as expected. Snowstorms and poor documentation made the set up slow, and even though he had been forced to fly halfway across the country for that mess, several key personnel were out for half the week. Shiro’s only solace was that he’d have plenty of time to write all day. 

His phone told him it was 9 in the morning, far later than he usually slept in, but he hadn't bothered setting an alarm and knew he needed the sleep. It was only 7 in California, but he couldn't overcome the urge to leave Keith a  _ Merry Christmas  _ message on discord. Only a few seconds later, his phone buzzed with a reply.

Opening up the message, Shiro was glad no one else was with him. He gasped aloud at the picture on his screen: Keith and his dog in matching horrible red Christmas sweaters and Santa hats. Almost on reflex, he took a screenshot of the heartwarming sight.

trekashi: I LOVE IT!!!

He smiled at the photo again, deciding after a moment to set it as his lock screen. Matt would probably end up making fun of him but he couldn't find it in himself to mind.

t-storm: merry x-mas, hope chicago sucks less today!

trekashi: i'm gonna sit on my lumpy couch and write all day while I watch the "a christmas story" marathon XD

t-storm: LAME

t-storm: i'll send you lots of dog pics

Shiro wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or cry. Settling for both he sobbed out a laugh and dragged himself out of bed to the bathroom while he replied.

trekashi: THANKS TELL KOSMO I LOVE HIM

trekashi: what are you doing today?

t-storm: he loves you too

t-storm: mom and dad both have the day off so we're eating everything in the tristate area

t-storm: and my uncle's here with his bf

t-storm: got them awful sweaters i'm so excited to see antok pretend to like his

Shiro grinned around his toothbrush and set his phone on the counter. He hadn’t seen any photos of Keith’s uncles, but Keith had complained about being surrounded by his freakishly tall family a lot, and the thought of a giant version of Keith frowning in an ugly sweater elated him. The chill of the cold water sent a shiver up his spine as he rinsed his mouth, grabbing his phone again to reply before stalking back into the bedroom to bundle up.

trekashi: you gotta send pics

t-storm: it's what i do

trekashi: :)

Shiro was too embarrassed to say it to Keith, or admit it to anyone but himself, but he loved all of Keith's pictures. It didn't matter if they were goofy selfies, his artwork, a neat cloud, or even what he was having for lunch; Shiro saved them all. He felt a little bit creepy about it, but he didn't see the harm. Keith wouldn't send them if he didn't want Shiro to see them.

Still cold even with the added layers, he filled the coffee pot on the counter with water and measured out the grounds before setting it to brew. It wasn't  _ good  _ coffee by any stretch, but it would fuel him through his marathon writing session. They only had 3 weeks left to finish their works and he was so close to the end of his first draft he could taste it.

t-storm: getting judged for being on my phone

t-storm: prepare yourself for dog pics later

trekashi: go have fun with the fam! ttyl :)

Shiro sighed as the coffee pot filled, the rich aroma at least soothing some of his annoyance at his situation. He set his phone to silent while he planted himself on the couch and hammered out the ending of his epic saga bit by bit. But before he had time to blink, the alarm he'd set for noon went off.

His phone had far more messages than he’d expected and it brought a small smile to his face. The video from Pidge and Matt left him in stitches; they’d tried to put a Santa hat on Bae Bae and then cackled as she proceeded to destroy it, leaving bits of felt and fluff throughout their parents’ house. They’d each followed up with a string of texts wishing him a Merry Christmas and regaling him of the ridiculous Holt family Christmas prank war tales that had become a tradition somewhere along the way. It was fun and sweet and Shiro tried not to feel sorry for himself as he scrolled through the threads and replied. 

Sven had sent him a picture of AJ beaming and having the time of her life with the present Shiro had sent her, a  _ PJ Masks Cat Car _ . The caption read “how long do these batteries last? I thought you were a good brother how could you do this to me?”

Shiro chuckled to himself as he thought up his reply. “But look how happy she looks :3 I’m the best uncle ever.”

Sven’s reply and an incoming call from Romelle lit up his screen at the same time. He accepted the call, assuming the reply was asking if it was a good time to talk. “Hey, Ellie. Merry Christmas!” He cradled the phone against his shoulder and logged back into discord on his laptop. 

“Merry Christmas!” She replied happily. “AJ loves her scooter, what do you say AJ?” 

The call switched to speaker mode and the background noise of the car’s music and sound effects made Shiro almost drop his phone as he winced. “Thank you! Love you uncle Shirwo!” 

“You’re welcome, AJ! Love you too!” Shiro replied with a laugh.

A small scuffle took place on the other end of the line and the noise from the car cut off with a squeal from AJ. Sven’s voice came in from a distance. “We can play with it when we’re off the phone, ok? It’s too loud.” AJ’s quiet, pouted agreement made Shiro bite his lip to stifle a chuckle. “So how’s your work thing going?”

Shiro sighed. “Oh, it’s going. The weather hasn’t been cooperating so we’re a little behind schedule.” He didn’t want to bring down the happy mood of the day whining about work trouble, no matter how frustrating the thought was. 

“Well hopefully you’re done soon,” Sven replied, frown obvious in his voice. “I talked to mom last night while I was  _ helping Santa,”  _ he changed the subject in stage whisper. AJ shrieked in excitement from the other side of the room. “Mommo is doing well, but Morfar still won’t use his cane. Mom’s scared he’s going to fall again.” 

A pang of guilt swelled in Shiro’s gut. “Yeah, I should probably call them later,” he trailed off, mentally doing the math for the time difference. He hadn’t spoken to his mother’s parents in ages. Loud, upbeat music interrupted his train of thought. 

_ “Allura Melenor Shirogane,”  _ Sven barked out sharply. “We just talked about the car, yes? Turn it off, please.” 

“How is Allura by the way?”

Sven took a long moment to answer. “She’s doing great. We’re headed to Australia to visit after AJ’s birthday.” 

“Wow, AJ’s first international flight! That’s exciting.” Shiro couldn’t help being a little jealous. He and Allura were locked in a fierce competition for their niece’s affections and he knew he’d have to step his game up when he came to visit before their trip. “Are you guys still good with me staying through the weekend after?” 

“Yeah, absolutely,” Sven replied, obviously distracted. “I got your email with the flights and everything, it’s on the calendar. We’re excited.  _ AJ please don’t take the ornaments off the tree!”  _

Shiro shook his head fondly. “I’ll let you go, I know she’s a busy kid.” 

“Sorry, thank you. Merry Christmas, Tak.” 

“You too. Give everyone hugs for me.” 

“Will do.” 

They said their goodbyes and hung up, leaving Shiro in the empty, quiet hotel room. Keith had sent him several messages while he was writing and on the phone and the notifications made the room feel less barren. 

He clicked on the first photo and grinned. Kosmo was much better at wearing hats than Bae Bae, and he sat proudly on an older man’s lap, licking his face while a tall, beautiful woman laughed next to him. The caption read  _ grandpa’s tasty apparently  _ and Shiro smiled, noting the resemblances between the couple and the dozens of pictures he’d seen of Keith in the past, deciding they must be Keith’s parents.  

The next photo was titled  _ Antok’s such a good sport  _ and made Shiro’s eyes widen. Two men sat side by side on a large couch, holding up matching ugly Christmas sweaters, one frowning blankly into the camera and the other giving a pained fake smile. Shiro stared at the picture for a long moment, noting the myriad of scars covering the men’s faces and exposed arms as well as the prosthetic leg peeking out of the bottom of the smiling man’s pants. 

Shiro clenched his right hand reflexively and licked his lips. It had been a long time since he’d felt embarrassed about his missing right arm, full head of prematurely white hair, and the scar that sliced across the bridge of his nose, but they were a large part of why he hadn’t sent Keith a photo of himself yet. Keith always spoke so highly of his uncles and a brief hope sparked in Shiro's chest. Maybe Keith wouldn't make a big deal out of Shiro's appearance like most people tended to.  

The Santa hat that Matt had somehow managed to sneak into his backpack had annoyed Shiro at first, but he was grateful for it as he picked up the  _ world’s okayest brother  _ mug Sven had sent him and prepared to take his picture. He pushed his laptop to the side and sat on the coffee table so the muted  _ Christmas Story  _ marathon on the TV was in the frame and held up the mug with his prosthetic after tipping the hat at a jaunty angle. Grinning wide, he snapped the picture and sent it before he could chicken out. Keith had already replied by the time he picked up his laptop and settled back on the couch. 

t-storm: NICE

t-storm: Who knew Santa could GET IT

Shiro felt his face erupt in blush and stared at the screen wracking his brain for a reply. The blinking cursor mocked him as his mouth went drier with every passing second. 

trekashi: lol :)

trekashi: you made santa blush, so I guess I have to give up the goods now

He squeezed his eyes shut after reading his own message and almost deleted, but powered through his embarrassment and linked the document with the fic he’d written based off of one of Keith’s drawings. 

t-storm: :O 

t-storm: Thanks!!

t-storm: Got some stuff for you too

Keith linked a folder in the chat and Shiro clicked it right away, chuckling to himself that Keith had titled it  _ kashimas.  _ There were several pictures inside: a beautiful painting of the enterprise, several sketches of Kosmo in silly poses, and a painting that made Shiro’s breath catch in his throat. It was his favorite scene from the story Keith still had on bedside table. 

Shiro couldn’t imagine the scene being done more perfectly if Keith had somehow gotten it directly from Shiro’s mind. McCoy stood in a doorway with his hands on his hips, Starfleet cadet uniform disheveled, with a fond, but exasperated smile. Kirk’s eyes were closed, lips puckered as he gestured towards the mistletoe hanging above them with a mostly-empty beer bottle. 

In the story, Shiro hadn’t mentioned the faint, drunken flush on Kirk’s cheeks, or the way he was reaching out for McCoy’s hand, but Keith had included them anyway. The stacks of books on the table behind them and a leather jacket haphazardly strewn over the couch hadn’t been mentioned for dozens of chapters at that point, but Keith had gotten every detail perfect. 

Shiro was touched beyond words. He hovered over the file and meant to download it, but accidentally clicked the wrong option through his misty eyes. The details of the painting appeared on the right side of the screen, showing that the file had been created in October, before they’d even been paired in the Big Bang. 

trekashi: you’re the best

trekashi: seriously, this is perfect, thank you

He scrubbed at his wet eyes, downloading the file and adding it to his background slideshow. 

t-storm: Glad you like it :) 

t-storm: More family stuff, but I’ll be back on later to yell at you about your fic! Merry Christmas!

trekashi: have fun! merry christmas 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen... no one ever taught me how to shut up. Sometimes you almost double the length of a fic with one chapter, it happens lmao

The rest of Shiro’s time in Chicago went marginally better than the first half and he was able to return with completed test results for the short week after New Year’s as scheduled. Three days of annoying meetings, a back-breaking boss, and his normal Friday evening hangout with Matt reduced to the breaks he took as he packed up his disaster of an apartment left Shiro in desperate need of a distraction. 

He frowned at the wobbly line on the fancy cardstock and glared at his prosthetic. Switching the marker to his left hand fared little better, adding insult to irritation when he managed to make the line straight and promptly dragged the side of his hand through the wet ink. The marker plopped down onto the table with a  _ clink _ and he let out a frustrated groan. 

Matt looked up from his laptop, craning his neck around his bent knees as he sprawled across Shiro's couch. "What?"

Holding up one sheet of ruined paper in each hand, he stared back blankly at Matt.

"Dude," Matt sighed, shaking his head. "Your boyfriend is a legit artist, just ask him to draw AJ's book for you."

Shiro's jaw dropped open and he snapped it shut, letting the cardstock fall to the floor as he pulled out his phone. "He's not my boyfriend," Shiro grumbled belatedly, cheeks tinting faintly pink. He could almost feel the roll of Matt's eyes across his apartment.

trekashi: Hey

trekashi: Do you have any commission slots open rn?

He bit his lip as he waited for Keith's reply. Hiring another artist was always an option, but Shiro knew it wouldn't be as special, not that AJ would know the difference.

t-storm: i could open one

t-storm: bff privileges

Shiro's cheeks darkened considerably and he held the phone a little closer to his chest, as if Matt would somehow be able to see across the living room and onto his screen.  _ Bff privileges... _

t-storm: is this for one of your fics?

trekashi: My niece's birthday, actually

trekashi: I wrote her a little kid's book starring herself as an astronaut

It had seemed like a cute idea when he'd come up with it shortly after Christmas, but doubt settled like a stone in his stomach at the blank screen in front of him.

t-storm: thats the most adorable thing ive ever heard

t-storm: 50% off if you send me a pic when she reads it

Shiro couldn't quell the soft burble of laughter from spilling out of his throat, covering it with a cough in the face of Matt's judgment.

trekashi: I'll send you a video of her reading it :3

t-storm: T_T thanks i love dying

A grin blossomed on his lips as he sent the link to the story he'd written and a reference photo of AJ along. It faded quickly as he realized how much work Keith had just signed up for.

trekashi: It's about 15 kid pages long, I hope that's not too much

t-storm: when's her bday?

trekashi: March 3rd

t-storm: plenty of time

t-storm: also, this is the cutest kid i’ve ever seen wtf

Shiro sighed in relief at the quick answer. Keith followed up with a link to the form he used to keep track of all his commissions and Shiro filled it out right away. By the time he was finished, Keith had already finished reading the short book and sent another message.

t-storm: what’s her favorite color

trekashi: PINK

trekashi: of course lol she’s turning 5 

t-storm: nice

t-storm: tell me more about her?

His thumbs paused over the keyboard as he smiled, thinking fondly. 

trekashi: She loves dinosaurs and superheroes and space

trekashi: Astronaut Barbie has a giant t-rex she rides on and Romelle made the doll a cape even though, and I quote, “Mommy, capes can’t flap in space!” 

t-storm: a;lskdfjasd

t-storm: kids are too good

t-storm: too pure

They messaged back and forth about AJ until Shiro’s cheeks were tired from the grin on his face. February couldn’t arrive fast enough. 

He hadn't noticed Matt had gotten up from the couch until he was leaning over Shiro's shoulder. "Glad it worked out," he said with a wink.

Shiro jumped and slammed his phone face down on the table with a cringe, praying he hadn't cracked the screen in his attempt to keep Matt from reading the conversation. "I thought you were taking a break?"

"Break's over," Matt sighed. "Back to packing." He clapped a hand on Shiro's shoulder and squeezed lightly. His face fell as he looked around the apartment nostalgically. “I’m gonna miss you, man.” 

Shiro shrugged his hand off and stood up, pulling Matt into a brief but tight hug. “You better still text me dumb memes all the time.” 

“Duh,” Matt replied with a cheeky smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. 

“And I already have the tickets for my birthday trip. You have to run interference with Romelle’s mom,” he punctuated with a grimace. “She won’t stop asking Romelle when AJ is getting cousins.” 

Matt’s shoulders shook with a quiet laugh, much more genuine than his smile had been. “I’m not fake-dating you like one of your pornos!” He said, already dashing towards the doors before the words could register in Shiro’s head. “You’d be helpless but to fall in love with me and it’d be too awkward!”

Shiro launched the marker from the table at Matt’s retreating form and missed by a mile, mostly on purpose. He shook his head and glared as Matt wheeled around at the door. “Seriously, you should transfer out west. Think about it.” He pointed an outstretched finger at his head for emphasis. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Shiro murmured dismissively. “Go pack, dweeb.” 

Shiro watched fondly as Matt flashed him a Vulcan salute over his shoulder and shut the door behind him. 

* * *

Working overtime and editing his Big Bang fic until he felt like his eyes were going to bleed kept Shiro’s thoughts away from the empty spot at his lunch table and the other end of his couch throughout January. Every snide comment from a coworker, meeting that should have been an email, and backhanded compliment from his boss pushed Shiro closer and closer to taking Matt up on his suggestion. But all the stress of planning a move and finding a place to live and figuring out what to tell his boss other than where exactly she could shove it washed over him and he put it out of his mind in favor of checking the formatting on preview mode for the hundredth time. 

It was as close to ready as it was going to get, and Keith’s artwork for the sixty thousand word epic romantic saga had turned out stunningly gorgeous. Posting day came with the thrill Shiro always got when he posted a new piece he was particularly proud of, but the excitement was dulled with a tinge of anxiety at the event’s conclusion.  _ I should just ask him,  _ Shiro thought with a frown at the flashing cursor on his laptop screen. He rolled his eyes at himself and decided against voicing the thought nagging at the back of his mind. 

trekashi: ready for posting day :D :D :D 

Keith typed in fits and starts for far longer than the simple question warranted, and Shiro chewed nervously on the end of a metal finger as he waited for a reply. 

t-storm: this is stupid

t-storm: can you get on voice?

trekashi: sure

Shiro grabbed his headset from the coffee table and pulled it on, clicking on the voice channel. “Hey what’s up?” He tried to ask nonchalantly, but apprehension crept into his tone.

Keith was quiet for a long moment before letting out a frustrated sigh. “We’re still gonna be friends after we post right?” 

The wave of relief that washed over Shiro at the hastily blurted question felt like a ton of bricks had been lifted from his shoulders and he sank back into the couch cushions. “I’m so glad you said something, I’ve been moping about the same thing all morning.” 

A quiet laugh answered him. “So that’s a ‘yes’ right?”

“Definitely,” Shiro replied softly. “Keith, you,” he licked his lips and swallowed past the lump in his throat. “I’ve been going through a lot lately and I really don’t know how I would have gotten through it without you.” 

Static crackled in Shiro’s ear along with Keith clearing his throat. “Happy to help,” he murmured. 

The air felt heavy, with far too much left unsaid, but neither of them spoke for a long moment. 

“Anyway, whatever. Let’s post this bitch and watch everyone freak out.” 

Shiro laughed and the tension melted away like it had never been there at all. “Let’s do it!” 

* * *

The beginning of February went by in flash as Shiro worked with Keith on AJ’s birthday present and his job carried on, sadly, as normal. Before he knew it, he was stumbling to baggage claim in sunny California. 

He heard AJ squeal before he saw her, and he turned just in time to scoop her off the ground and spin her in a circle. They both laughed as he set her on his hip and left a sloppy wet kiss on her cheek. “I missed you so much!” 

She wrapped her arms the miniscule bit she could reach around his broad chest and snuggled into his shoulder. “Not as much as I missed you!” 

Shiro laughed at the petulant reply as Sven and Romelle approached more sedately. “Nuh uh,” he teased sticking his tongue out. 

“Yeah huh!” 

“Prepare to be squished!” Sven interrupted, trapping AJ between them as he pulled Shiro in for a hug. “I’m so glad you could make it, Tak.” 

“Yeah, me too.” Shiro patted Sven’s back with the arm not holding AJ up and smiled. 

Romelle squished in on the other side and squeezed all three of them as tightly as her shockingly strong arms could manage. “Mommy I’m getting mushed to death!” AJ squawked. 

They all laughed as they broke apart and Shiro mussed AJ’s hair when she panted dramatically as though she’d been suffocating. The short wait for Shiro’s bags was filled with laughter and excited planning for the week ahead and it continued into the drive home. 

The weekend was filled with late mornings spent making breakfast as a family, playing with AJ, nostalgic jogs through Shiro's favorite park and dinners at his favorite restaurants. He'd forgotten how much fun his brother and sister-in-law were, and they stayed up hours later than any of them normally would have chatting and watching movies after putting AJ to bed. He finally felt like he was beginning to relax for the first time in months. 

Romelle tried to let Shiro sleep in Monday morning, but AJ quickly grew restless and bounded into his room shortly after 7. She jumped onto his bed and laughed as he bolted upright, wild bed-head sticking up in all directions. 

“Mommy's working! Come play!” She pleaded as he blinked at her in confusion.

He yawned and stretched as slowly as he could, cracking an eye open at her and trying not to smirk. AJ huffed impatiently as he smacked his lips together noisily.

“You know, there's a hefty price to pay for waking a guy up this early.” Her eyes widened in shock as Shiro's hands came up, fingers curled into mock-claws. “Tickles!” 

AJ squealed as Shiro pounced on her, nowhere near fast enough to lunge off the bed in time to avoid his onslaught. Her tiny fists and feet flailed against him as she giggled. He took mercy on her when she started laughing hard enough to turn her face cherry red. 

Shiro followed her lead into the living room, waving as they passed by Romelle's office. She held a hand up the to phone at her chin and mouthed  _ sorry.  _ He shook his head and gave her a thumbs up before plopping down onto the rug next to AJ. 

They played with Astronaut Barbie and AJ's army of plastic dinosaurs until Romelle joined them, setting up her work laptop on an end table. “So what adventures is astro-Barbie up to today?” She asked with a grin. 

“Well, we're saving Ganymede from this evil stegosaurus,” Shiro explained, holding the toy up and shaking it for emphasis. 

Romelle nodded sagely. “And you're sure he's an evil stegosaurus and not just misunderstood?” 

AJ held a doll up, shaking it passionately. “He put Mrs. Kitty in jail and,” another toy dinosaur joined the drama. “And he stole a buttload of cwayons from Paddles!” 

Romelle raised an eyebrow and frowned. AJ's sheepish smile did little to soften her expression. “I mean, a bunch of cwayons.” 

“That's better,” Romelle replied quietly, smiling down at AJ. “So, how are you going to defeat this menace, my love?” 

AJ's face brightened and she picked up her astronaut doll, pulling its leg straight. She made an explosion noise with her mouth as Barbie karate-kicked the stegosaurus from Shiro's grasp. 

“Ugh, ack, noooooo!” Shiro cried in his gravely stegosaurus voice, sending Romelle into a fit of quiet giggles. “Your heavy moon boots are crushing my spikes!” 

Shiro's phone buzzed in his pocket and he glanced at it quickly as AJ carried on the fight without him. The good morning message from Keith made his heart swell with fondness. 

t-storm: day 3 of freedom! How's it going? 

He grinned as he snapped a picture of AJ stomping the evil-doing into the plush rug and sent it. 

t-storm: get him!!!!!

Romelle raised a knowing eyebrow at Shiro's soft chuckle. “Who are you talking to, Shiro?” 

His face went pale and then flushed bright red. “Just one of my Star Trek friends. The one that helped me with the  _ you know what,”  _ Shiro replied. 

The way his eyes darted away from her had Romelle's lips quirking up into a smirk. “Oooh,” she teased. 

“It's not like that,” Shiro snapped defensively. 

Romelle nodded. “Sure, sure.” 

“Pssst,” AJ interrupted quietly, holding a doll up and shaking it at Shiro. 

He took it with an embarrassed chuckle. “Right. Back to saving the world!” 

Shiro tried to ignore Romelle's knowing glances as he and Keith chatted throughout the morning while they played. A few calls from clients kept her sequestered in her office for ten minutes or so at a time, so he at least got some brief reprieves. 

AJ insisted on helping Shiro make lunch and he resisted the urge to check his phone while they constructed their sandwiches. Romelle finished a call and joined them back in the kitchen, leaving Shiro free to sneak another look.

He chuckled under his breath as he took a quick glance at the photo Keith had sent him. Kosmo was mid-bark, halfway up a hideous sculpture, being thoroughly mocked by a squirrel at the very top who didn't seem at all bothered that the massive dog was intent upon having him for an afternoon snack. Upon further inspection of the photo, Shiro's mouth went dry and his hand covered it reflexively.

“Alright Shiro?” Romelle asked, face scrunched in concern at his distress. 

Shiro cleared his throat and stood up. “Yeah, I just, I have to take care of something really quick,” he stammered, stalking back towards the guest room and shutting the door behind him. There was just no way, but looking at the sculpture again...

trekashi: So that's adorable but...

trekashi: Are you at shady creek park?

The hideous "modern art" had to be one of a kind, with its not-at-all-artfully rusted spires and asymmetrically winding rods. It had been an eyesore ten years ago when it had first been installed partway through Shiro's senior year of high school and had only seemed to grow uglier every time he'd run past it on his morning jogs. There was no mistaking it.

t-storm: Uuhhhh

t-storm: Yeah

Shiro's breath caught in his throat. For months he'd been silently hoping maybe Keith would set up a booth at a popular con or some other convenient excuse would arise and they'd get to meet in person. He'd never dreamed that fate could be so kind.

trekashi: I ran there yesterday

trekashi: My brother lives less than a mile from there

Keith took his time typing, pausing, typing again. Shiro's heart thundered in his chest as the seconds ticked away like eons until Keith finally answered.

t-storm: Wanna get dinner?

He stared at the screen in disbelief and caught his bottom lip between his teeth. It slipped free as a wide grin split his face.

trekashi: Absolutely!

They planned to meet at a cozy mom and pop style pizzeria a short walk from Sven's house in a few hours time. Romelle's teasing was well worth the exciting prospect, and she dropped it after a few pained glances. The rest of the afternoon was jam packed with coloring and board games and more intergalactic doll fights.

Shiro tried not to panic as the time drew closer, but after a frantic shower he found himself softly cursing at his lackluster wardrobe options wadded up in his suitcase. He groaned and pulled out his phone to call Sven.

"Hey Tak," Sven's voice came in loud as he answered, the background noise of the highway distorting it. "I'm just on my way home now, sorry."

Guilt panged in Shiro's gut. "Oh, no rush, I, uh," he cleared his throat. "A friend of mine actually lives around here and wanted to grab dinner tonight."

"Oh." The reply was a short and clipped.

Shiro hoped he wouldn't be upset, but he had to risk it. Meeting Keith in person would be worth it. "I won't be out late, before AJ goes to bed for sure."

Sven paused for a long moment. "Well you'd better bring back some ice cream for dessert, then," he finally said with a laugh.

Shiro breathed a sigh of relief. "I can definitely do that. Do you mind if I raid your closet?"

"Well that's a first," Sven teased.

"I know, I stand by every bad thing I've ever said about your fashion sense, but I'm sure Ellie's bought you something decent," Shiro countered. "I brought too many presents for AJ so all my stuff is wrinkled."

"Sure, sure." The sound of a blaring horn and his brother swearing in a mix of languages made Shiro cringe. "Go ahead and get all pretty for your date. I have to go before this  _ idiot  _ runs me off the road."

Sven's answering honk had Shiro pulling the phone away from his face with a wince. "Thanks, you're the best! Bye!"

He waited for his brother's answering goodbye before tossing his phone onto the bed and heading into the master bedroom. Sven's closet provided relatively few options that Shiro would ever consider, but he settled on a pair of pressed semi-casual slacks and a gray henley. He didn't want to look overly fancy for the laid back atmosphere of the restaurant but he'd be lying to himself if he didn't admit that he wanted to dress to impress. 

After an embarrassingly thorough inspection in Romelle's full length mirror, Shiro slunk back to his room and plopped down on the bed to retrieve his phone. Keith hadn't said anything in the chat since they'd solidified the details for their meetup.

He couldn't think of anything to say, his mind was filled with static. Abandoning his phone again, he went to the guest bathroom to check his hair again. 

“Just a friend, huh?” Romelle smirked and leaned against the door frame. 

Shiro set his comb down and slowly turned towards her. His eye wasn't twitching, but he felt like it should have been. “I might, maybe, sort of... be interested in him but we really are just friends,” he stammered, building verbal momentum until the words were tumbling out of his mouth like Pidge on one of her rants. 

“You look great,” she assured, smiling warmly. The compliment abated his anxiety just a little, but it was short lived. “Just don't be,” Romelle trailed off, gesturing vaguely with one hand. 

Shiro's brows furrowed. “Don't be what?”

“You know… weird. Just be normal.” 

He blinked at her and she stared back. “I'm just, I'm gonna go. Save a table.” 

Romelle murmured out apologies as he squeezed past her, retrieving his phone and wallet from the bedroom. “Bye AJ! I'll be back for storytime!” 

A distracted, “Bye bye!” answered him from somewhere in the vicinity of the living room and he was out the door. 

_ At least I can put off dealing with Sven's grouchy attitude for another few hours,  _ he mused, trying to will his heart to stop pounding. 

The little pizzeria was only a twenty minute walk from the house and Shiro found himself sitting at a table half an hour before he was supposed to meet Keith there. His stomach growled at the delicious smells emanating from the tiny kitchen beyond the dining area. He desperately needed a distraction to prevent him from ordering every breadstick in the restaurant and then seeing how many he could shovel into his mouth at once. 

Pulling out his phone, he scrolled to the fic he and Keith had posted just over a month before. It had blown up far more than he'd expected it to and more enthusiastic comments riddled his inbox every few hours. There were ten chapters in total, and while Keith had only been required to draw two scenes for the whole story, he'd ended up picking his favorite from each chapter. 

The comments made him smile, but even the hundredth time looking at them, Keith's pieces made his chest ache with fondness. They'd both poured so much of themselves into the works and into each other throughout the event. The time ticked by while Shiro replied to a few messages and scrolled back up to look at the artwork in between each one. 

At five minutes to 6:00, Shiro locked his phone and slid it into his back pocket, fixing his gaze on the front wall of windows so there was no chance he'd miss Keith's arrival. A few minutes later, a familiar mop of black hair bobbed past the glass towards the entrance.

The door opened with a quiet jingle from the bell hanging atop its frame. Shiro stood from his seat, the harsh whine of metal on cheap tile not even registering in his brain as he skirted around the edge of the table. Their eyes met and Shiro could feel his face heating up as they smiled at each other.

Keith was even more gorgeous in person than in the dozens of photos Shiro had seen over the past few months. His unruly hair was pulled back, tamed at the nape of his neck with an elastic save for a few stubborn strands that framed his face and the curtain of bangs that wasn’t quite long enough. The dying light of the late winter afternoon bathed him in a golden glow as he approached. Shiro felt a bit like Icarus as they came to an awkward stop just a hair too close to each other.

"Keith, it's," Shiro swallowed back a chuckle. "It's so good to see you." He stuck his right hand out between them.

One corner of Keith's mouth tilted up farther, showing just a hint of his teeth. "Yeah, you too." He extended his hand and hooked their thumbs together, the fingertips exposed from his ends of his gloves sliding along Shiro's metal wrist as he pulled them chest to chest. Keith's other arm came around to Shiro's back but didn't pat twice in a frat boy's greeting, instead lingering across his shoulder blades. Shiro's left arm looped around Keith's waist seemingly of its own accord.

They stood for a long moment, wrapped in the comfortable embrace, before breaking apart with pink cheeks. "Uh, yeah. We should," Shiro gestured back to the table he'd claimed for them and returned to his seat.

Keith sat down across from him, smiling wide. "Can't believe you're really here," he said with a laugh, setting his messenger bag down on the table and flipping it open.

"Yeah, it's," Shiro shook his head fondly. "I mean, what are the odds?"

Keith pulled a binder out of the bag and laid it down on the table. "Better than Kirk just happening to land on the planet where Spock and Scotty were," he replied absently, staring down at the plastic and sliding his thumb between the flaps but not yet flipping it open.

"Well, you got me there. What's that?" He nodded toward Keith's hand.

Keith looked up him, eyes blazing intently. "Your birthday present. Was gonna email it but," he shrugged. "Figured I might as well get it printed."

Shiro's eyes widened before softening with the rest of his face. "That's so nice of you, Keith. Thank you."

"I hope you like it." He flipped the binder open and spun it around to face Shiro with one smooth motion.

The heavy paper was covered with a sheet of plastic and Shiro reached out tentatively to slide it closer. Row after row of apple trees in full bloom rolled down a vibrant green hill. The crystal clear water of the fjord beyond them sparkled and reflected the snow-capped mountains in the distance and the puffy white clouds in the sky. The barest hint of a small farm and dock could be seen through the sprawling trees. It took Shiro's breath away.

"Keith, I," he murmured, licking his lips as he tried to find the right words to say. His finger trailed gently over the plastic cover. "This is amazing, really." He finally tore his eyes from the paper and looked up. A blush crept up his cheeks at Keith's shy smile. "My parents always argue over whether blomstring or Sakura matsuri is better." The fond memory made him chuckle. "True to form, mom votes Japan and dad votes Norway."

Keith laughed with him for a moment, but was quiet while Shiro's poured over the picture again. He was lost reminiscing until their waitress appeared asking if they were ready to order. "Sorry, give us five?" Keith answered before Shiro could process the request.

"Sure thing doll," she said with a smile, tucking her pencil back into her apron and disappearing into the kitchen.

"My parents travel a lot for work, so I don't get to see them very often," Shiro murmured, closing the binder and sliding it aside. "I'm gonna hang that up by my front door, so I'll think about them every time I come home."

Keith ducked his head under his bangs and Shiro felt his heart stop. "Just thought it was pretty," he grumbled, half modesty and half embarrassment.

"It is, it's incredible."

Keith's fingers swept his bangs aside and he looked up with a lopsided grin. "Glad you like it. Happy birthday, Takashi."

Shiro's heart started up again and thudded so hard against his chest that he was sure it was doing structural damage to his rib cage. "Thanks," he all but whispered.

Keith cleared his throat. "So uh, split a large pepperoni?" His face was as red as Shiro's felt.

"How do you feel about banana peppers?"

Keith's eyes lit up. "Shut up," he laughed. "Pepperoni and banana pepper is my favorite. Antok always calls me a freak."

They laughed and talked while they ate and easily vanquished the entire pie between them, even with both of them eating as slowly as they could manage to stretch out their time together. Far too soon for both of them, all the slices were gone and the waitress had cleared their plates and deposited the bill.

Keith grabbed it before Shiro had the chance and slipped a few bills inside before the folding plastic pamphlet closed. "Get me next time," he suggested with a shrug at Shiro's indignant look.

_ Next time,  _ Shiro's mind raced. He hadn't thought about a  _ next time.  _ But clearly, Keith had, and still was. Shiro glanced up at the clock on the wall and hummed in thought. "I don't have to be home until 8, wanna head to the park for a little bit?"

Keith's eyebrows shot up and he followed Shiro's glance towards the clock. "Sure."

They walked in companionable silence towards the park. Most people had trouble keeping up with Shiro's lengthy strides, but Keith matched his pace without any trouble. Shiro tried to stop himself from watching the curves of Keith's miles-long legs strain his jeans as they made their way down the sidewalk, but every few paces his eyes drifted. 

"We've talked everyday for months and now I have no idea what to say," Keith admitted, shaking his head.

Shiro chuckled. "I was just thinking the same thing."

Keith licked his lips and kept his eyes forward as they entered the park, heading down the trail that surrounded the open expanse of grass and trees and playground equipment. "How long are you in town for?"

Their knuckles brushed as they walked unhurriedly, and Shiro stuffed his hands into his pockets to avoid the temptation of lacing their fingers together. "I leave next Sunday."

Keith nodded but didn't say anything else.

"We're uh," Shiro fidgeted, pulling his hand out of his pocket to rub the back of his neck. "We're doing a birthday party type thing tomorrow at my brother's place, if you wanna come?"

Keith looked over at him with a grin. "What time?"

"People are gonna start showing up around 5." Shiro frowned at Keith's answering groan. "I'm guessing you already have plans?" He tried not to let the disappointment leak into his voice.

"Appointment at 4:30," Keith grumbled, kicking at a stray rock on the path. "S'a full back piece, too, so it's gonna take forever."

Shiro shrugged, forcing his frown back into a neutral expression. They walked in silence for a little while longer before Shiro brightened again. "What about Friday? For AJ's book? I'm sure she'd love for you to be there."

Keith pulled out his phone and scrolled to his calendar, tossing a fist up in the air as he locked the screen and replaced it. "I'll be there!" Shiro stopped and held his hand out for a high-five that Keith happily returned. "Is it cool if I bring Kosmo? He's great with kids."

"I'll have to ask Sven and Romelle, but they have a big backyard," he laughed as another thought occurred to him. "I bet she could almost ride him like a horse."

Keith grinned. "Gonna have to find out."

The conversation flowed more easily after that; Shiro asked about Kosmo and about Keith's work. They stopped in the trail so Keith could show off more pictures of the tattoos he'd done and not already sent online. They made a full lap around the park before either of them had realized it.

Shiro made a pained noise in the back of his throat. "My brother is going to kill me," he mumbled, checking the time on his phone. "He's about to put AJ to bed any second and I promised I'd read her a story."

Keith cringed. "Said you run, right? I'll hold on to your picture until Friday so you can haul ass."

Shiro nodded, biting his lip as he looked between Keith and the road back to Sven's house. "It was really great to meet you in person," he swallowed hard. "I'm really looking forward to Friday."

Keith took a few steps closer and for a moment, Shiro wondered if Keith had been about to kiss him. Instead, his arms looped around Shiro's waist and he was pulled into another hug. "Me too," Keith murmured against his collar bone.

Shiro wrapped his arms across Keith's shoulders and took in a shaky breath. Without their hands in between them and their chests and stomachs flush against each other, the hug felt much different than their greeting hug had and it lasted much longer. Neither of them were quick to let go.

"Alright, don't get in trouble," Keith finally said, pulling back from the embrace.

Shiro nodded and took a few steps before turning back to wave. Keith hadn't moved and flushed at having been caught staring, but he held his hand up and gave a two-fingered salute. Turning back towards the road, Shiro looked both ways before dashing across the street and didn't slow as he made his way back to Sven's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> note from my beta:
>
>> Shiro during the whole not-date: don't think about how hot he is Takashi, don't get a boner in your brother's pants 
> 
> I couldn't fit it in, but i felt like you all needed to see it lmao 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long! Secret santa fics + events + breaking my fn arm made writing really hard OTL  
> I updated the expected number of chapters to 7 because I took a 2k long detour in this chapter and also never learned how to shut up lmao.  
> Also thank you to the ever-incredible AvidBeader for making what will now be the next chapter (and then the ending) way better with her awesome idea <3  
> PS, I did post a short snippet on tumblr, set some time in the chapter 2 time-frame that didn't make it into the fic:  
> [You can read it here !](https://lasersheith.tumblr.com/post/181782629892/im-massively-stuck-on-the-next-chapter-of-my)

Shiro took in a harsh gulp of air as he reached the front steps, willing his breath to slow and his heart to stop its attempt to beat out of his chest. Running nearly a mile at a dead sprint was beyond even his impressive fitness regime. Once he could breathe close to normally again, he crept quietly into the front door and slipped his shoes off on the mat.

Romelle peered around the corner as he slunk down the hallway and jerked her head towards AJ’s room. “Sven stalled as long as he could, but she’s gonna be out any second.”

With an apologetic cringe, Shiro hurried down the hall into her room. “Hey buddy,” he whispered as he poked his head in through the cracked door.

AJ’s half-lidded, unfocused eyes met his and for a moment he thought she would fall asleep on the spot. She blinked and looked between Sven sitting at the edge of her bed, book in hand, and Shiro leaning against the door frame a few times before sitting up with a blinding smile, suddenly fully awake.

“Uncle Shirwo!”

Shiro smiled back at her and stepped into the room. “Ok, one more story, but you have school tomorrow so it’s light’s out right after, yeah?” Sven glanced up in Shiro’s direction, eyes narrowing before turning back towards AJ as she nodded enthusiastically.

He leaned over to kiss her forehead before standing up and shoving the book into Shiro’s chest. “Read fast,” he grumbled.

Shiro nodded, knowing there would be plenty of time to make excuses and beg for forgiveness later. “Ok, kid. Rainbow Fish: speed run edition.”

AJ grinned up at him and scooted over on her bed, patting the spot next to her. Sitting down, Shiro held the book in front of them upside down and squinted at the first page. “Hmm… I think this one’s broken.” He thrust his bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout.

“No, silly!” AJ giggled, grabbing the corner of the book and tugging.

“Ohhhh,” Shiro gasped playfully, turning it around to the correct direction. “That’s much better, you’re so smart.”

She beamed up at him and pointed towards the first line with pleading eyes.

* * *

AJ was asleep before he’d even made it halfway through the book. Shiro got up as quietly as he could and pecked a quick kiss to the top of her head as he tucked her in. Setting the book on her nightstand, he clicked off the lamp and tiptoed from the room, leaving the door open just a crack so the light from the hallway would shine in.

Sven was waiting for him in the kitchen.

Shiro swallowed hard as he approached his brother, palm already sweating as he fought with what he was going to say. Sven sipped delicately at the mug of tea in his hands, steely eyes roving over Shiro’s face. “She loves you, you know. She wasn’t even mad that you were almost half an hour late.” He set the mug of tea on the counter and crossed his arms. “What happened, Takashi?”

Shiro clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, shaking his head. “I just lost track of time.”

The cold expression in his brother’s eyes made Shiro’s heart ache. “She sees you once a year. Maybe twice. You can’t set an alarm on your phone so you can read her a story?” He kept his voice low, but the volume didn’t ease any of the anger.

“I know, I,” Shiro started, clenching his hands at his sides.

Sven interrupted him. “Of course you do, you know everything.”

Shiro let out a bitter chuckle. “What is this really about?”

“You know what it’s about.”

“Right, because I know everything.”

Sven took in a deep, hissing breath through his nose and clutched at his sleeves. Calmer, his hands dropped, and he let his teeth scrape over his bottom lip. “The Holts moved back. Mom and dad will be back next week. Allura’s fellowship is up in the fall. Everyone is here, Tak. Everyone but you.”

Shiro nodded, it was an argument they’d had often and his excuses were running thin. “I,” he bit back the urge to say _I know_ again. “I’m working on it.”

Sven’s head tilted to the side and his eyes narrowed in question. “What does that mean?”

Sighing, Shiro let his shoulders droop. “Matt’s scoping out the engineering department and seeing if they have room for a transfer. He’s coming to the party tomorrow and giving me the details. I’m,” he huffed and crossed his arms. “It sucks. Moving out there after college with Matt seemed like a great idea at the time, but I was wrong. And now coming back with my tail between my legs makes me feel like an idiot and a failure.” It was hard to keep his voice low so he wouldn’t wake AJ or disturb Romelle in her office. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”

Their eyes met and Sven’s defensive posture crumbled. He pushed off the counter and took two long strides, pulling his brother into a tight hug. “You’re not a failure. You just need to realize that not doing everything by yourself doesn’t make you weak.”

Shiro let his arms wrap around Sven’s back and return the hug, but he didn’t trust his voice. “We’re all proud of you, you don’t have to prove anything to us. Especially if it’s making you miserable.” Sven patted his back a few times before pulling away, holding Shiro by his biceps. “But you owe my kid some ice cream and you’re picking her up from preschool tomorrow. And there had better be sprinkles.”

Shiro sniffled out a chuckle and nodded. “Extra sprinkles. Copy.”

“If her shirt isn’t ruined with chocolate syrup I’m kicking your ass.” Sven poked a finger into his chest for emphasis.

Sven’s comically serious tone for such an inane statement earned him a genuine laugh. “Maybe we should ask Romelle about that one, but I’ll see what I can do,” Shiro agreed, wiping his misty eyes with his sleeves.

Sven tutted. “I do the laundry. I decide how much syrup.”

Shiro laughed again and tossed his hands up. “Ok, ok. But I’m wearing your shirt when I take her.”

“A deal.” Sven held his hand out to shake on it.

Shiro slapped it away and rolled his eyes. “You’re such a dork.”

Sven’s quiet chuckle followed him down the hall to the guest room.

* * *

The next morning was a whirlwind trying to get AJ out the door and to school on time, followed by a frantic day of helping Romelle clean and set up for the party. Shiro didn’t get a free moment to check his phone until they sat down for a quick lunch of hastily tossed together sandwiches well into the afternoon.

Keith’s messages from the night before had butterflies erupting in his stomach.

t-storm: hope you made it home ok

t-storm: did your brother kill you lol you werent THAT late

The last one had been sent several hours after the first which made Shiro’s chest pang with guilt that he hadn’t been able to answer sooner. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed as he thought of what to say.

trekashi: Sorry, I got home just in time to read AJ a story and then fight with Sven. We talked through some stuff but I passed out right after and my sister has been panicking about the party all day so I’ve been her workhorse.

He bit his lip, debating about what else he should say.

trekashi: I had a lot of fun last night, thanks again for dinner.

He slid his phone back into his pocket and tried to concentrate on shoveling the rest of his lunch into his mouth as quickly as possible so he wouldn’t be late to pick AJ up from school. With a quick kiss to Romelle’s cheek before setting his plate in the sink, he was off on the short walk. Halfway through his shortcut through the park, his phone buzzed again.

t-storm: No worries

t-storm: Not to be creepy but look to your left

Shiro’s head perked up from his phone and turned to his left just in time to see a massive dog sprinting full bore at him. “Kosmo! Down!” Keith’s familiar voice rang out as Shiro closed his eyes and braced for impact.

When he didn’t find himself tossed to the ground, he cracked an eye open cautiously and then relaxed as he saw the dog sitting obediently at his feet. His head was tilted to the side and his large tongue hung out of his mouth in a grin that had Shiro laughing and kneeling to scratch at Kosmo’s neck.

“You must be Kosmo, then?” Shiro cooed, rubbing at the soft fur around his collar.

Keith skidded to a stop next to them. “Hey, sorry,” he panted with a chuckle. “Normally doesn’t run away from me like that.”

Shiro stood, heart suddenly leaping into his throat more forcefully than when he’d thought he was about to be mauled. “It’s fine, he’s a sweetheart.” He scratched the back of his neck and tried not to let his eyes rove across Keith in broad daylight. “You guys just out for a walk?”

Keith leaned over and clipped a leash to Kosmo’s collar. “Yeah, getting some extra play time in since I’ll be at the studio pretty late. What are you up to?”

Shiro cleared his throat. “Picking up AJ from preschool and taking her to get ice cream.” His cheeks blazed as he realized he was wearing torn up jeans and one of Sven’s awful yuppie brewery t-shirts.

Keith looked up at him with a smile. “Sounds like she’s a lucky kid,” he murmured, fist clenching around the leash.

Shiro stared at him for a long moment, taking in the way the sunlight made his eyes sparkle a deep indigo and holding back the urge to tuck the messy bangs hanging out of his ponytail behind his ears. He shoved his hands in his pockets instead. “If you’re not busy, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you tagged along.”

“Oh, uh,” Keith cleared his throat and his face flushed a faint pink. “Yeah, I,” he let out a deep breath. “I’m super awkward around kids.”

Shiro laughed at the quiet confession. “So what was your plan for Friday?”

Keith crossed his arms and shrugged. “Bring Kosmo and hope no one notices I’m a weirdo?”

Guilt ebbed at his chest as he bit back another laugh. “Maybe this is a good dry run? Plus, I’ll be there and I’m at least twice as weird as you, so,” Shiro trailed off with a teasing smile.

Keith huffed and lowered his arms. “I’m in.”

Shiro grinned and threw his arm around Keith’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, you’re gonna love her.”

* * *

The preschool was an unassuming red brick building with a fenced off playground and well-kept parking lot. A gaggle of students was congregating next to the teacher at the gate as parents wandered up to collect their children. Shiro gestured with the craning of his neck and Keith nodded, stopping on the sidewalk as Shiro approached the teacher.

“Uncle Shirwo!” AJ called excitedly, one tiny arm waving frantically as she ran through the gate and threw her arms around his thighs.

Shiro laughed and ruffled her hair. “Hey kid, ready for some ice cream?”

Her eyes lit up and she nodded, afternoon sunlight glinting off of her one front tooth as she grinned wide. Shiro made quick work of signing her out with the teacher and took her hand. Keith was watching them with a fiercely guarded expression, but his cheeks were redder than Kosmo’s collar and Shiro wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

“Puppy!” AJ exclaimed, dropping Shiro’s hand in favor of running up to Kosmo.

He reared his head back, affronted, and trotted to hide behind Keith’s legs. Keith laughed at the uncharacteristic cowardice of his normally brave companion. “It’s ok buddy,” he soothed, turning around to run his hand down the side of Kosmo’s head. “Gotta be gentle, and he’s a sucker for right behind the ears,” Keith said, turning back to AJ with an uncomfortable smile.

She flushed but nodded and approached more cautiously as Keith stood out of the way.

“There you go, hold out your hand so he can sniff it. ‘S how he says hi.”

AJ did as instructed and Kosmo sniffed gingerly at her hand, eyes darting toward Keith a few times before he relaxed. The residue of an afternoon snack was swiftly vanquished by Kosmo’s eager tongue as he licked at her hand, earning a squeal and a fit of giggles.

Shiro watched, fondness swelling in his heart as Keith seemed to relax, gently coaxing both girl and dog along their quickly blossoming friendship. He caught himself staring and took a few slow steps forward.

“AJ, this is my friend Keith and his dog, Kosmo,” he said softly, kneeling next to her as she ran her fingers through the soft fur behind Kosmo’s ears.

She smiled wide. “I like them!” She declared emphatically, earning a wag of Kosmo’s tail and a wide stripe of slobber across her face as Kosmo finished cleaning the last vestiges of peanut butter that remained on her cheeks.

AJ squealed and pushed gently at Kosmo’s snout. He gave up with little protest, turning back to bump his head into Keith’s thigh in request of more pats.

Shiro smiled. “Well I’m sure the feeling is mutual,” he agreed with a laugh. “Who wants ice cream?”

AJ raised her hand and turned to Keith with an expectant, open-mouthed enthusiasm. He faltered and looked between AJ frantically waving her arm and Shiro’s amused smirk. Tentatively he lifted an arm to match AJ’s pose if not her excitement.

Mouth curling into a blinding grin, AJ turned back to Shiro and jumped up and down a few times in rapid succession. Shiro glanced back at Keith with a shy smile and raised his hand as well. AJ howled in delight.

“Looks like the ayes have it!” Shiro said decisively, lowering his hand.

AJ pumped a fist up in the air and did a half-jig as she returned to Shiro’s side to take his hand.

Keith looked between them, smiling. “Lead the way.”

* * *

The ice cream stand at the far end of the park suited their canine-laden needs perfectly and the vendor was more than happy to provide Keith with a cardboard bowl of whipped cream for Kosmo to lick clean and then destroy. At Shiro’s urging, AJ had decided on a _butt-load of hot fudge_ along with the promise not to tell her mother that he’d encouraged such a phrase. Shiro was struggling to decide what to get for himself, too distracted keeping one eye on AJ to make sure she didn’t wander off and the other on Keith as he fiddled with the end of his ponytail, apparently lost in thought at the myriad of dairy delights before them.

“Rocky road,” both men said decisively at the same time.

Shiro chuckled and looked away, brushing his bangs off of his face. “That’s kinda funny,” he murmured looking up with a shy smile.

Keith rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged, though the corners of his mouth twitched upwards as well.

The clerk handed both men their cones and gave them their total expectantly. Shiro started digging in his pocket for his wallet but Keith put a hand on his arm. “Wait, let me,” Keith murmured, reaching into his own pocket.

Shiro’s cheeks flushed. “No, you already got dinner,” he argued fondly.

The earnesty in the fierce expression Keith leveled at him took him aback. “But it’s your birthday.”

A soft smile slowly bloomed across Shiro’s face. “I,” he licked his lips and shrugged. “If you insist.”

“I do.”

Shiro felt his face heat at the words. “Ok,” he all but whispered. “Thank you.”

Keith smiled and handed his debit card over to the man behind the cart. All four of them ambled unhurriedly over to a bench to eat their treats, AJ chattering away about all the fun she’d had at school that day.

Shiro turned towards Keith with a smile as they both started in on their cones, but found himself transfixed at the way Keith’s tongue curled around the ice cream. A sudden biting chill against his nose had him jerking his hand back and scrubbing at the sticky mess he’d left, accidentally missing the mark with his tongue in his distraction. Keith turned to him with shy smile and nodded his head towards AJ, thankfully not having noticed Shiro’s ogling.

Her face and shirt were already covered in fudge and Kosmo stood in front of her on the bench, tail blazing furiously behind him as he waited anxiously for her to jump down within licking range.

Shiro couldn’t bite back the laugh that bubbled up in his throat at the sight. “AJ, don’t let Kosmo lick you, chocolate is bad for dogs,” he cautioned after a moment, good sense outweighing his amusement.

Keith shrugged. “It’s ok. He ate an entire pan of brownies once and was mostly fine.”

Shiro turned back to him with a raised eyebrow. “How?” Was all he could manage to stammer out.

Keith laughed and gestured towards the dog. _“Somebody_ had to learn that just because he _can_ reach the counter doesn’t mean he _should,”_ he explained with just a hint of mockery behind his fondness.

Kosmo whined and lowered his head, drawing a laugh from all three of them. AJ hopped down and held her sticky hands out, giggling as Kosmo eagerly cleaned them before moving on to her face. She sputtered and gasped but never stopped laughing.

Keith sighed as his phone buzzed in his pocket. “I gotta get Kosmo home so I’m not late for my appointment,” he muttered as he dismissed the alarm. “This was really fun though, Kashi. Thanks for letting me tag along.”

Shiro smiled back at him, tinged with just a hint of sadness. “I’m glad you could come,” he replied quietly. “Thanks again for the ice cream.”

Keith nodded and stood up, Shiro quickly following in his wake. His arms were around Shiro’s shoulders before he could react, retreating almost as quickly as they’d come. “Happy birthday. I’ll uh,” Keith cleared his throat. “I’ll see you Friday?”

The quick hug hadn’t been nearly enough contact for Shiro’s liking, and his hand seemed to move of its own accord to rest on Keith’s shoulder. “Thanks. I’ll send you the address on discord when we get home, party starts at 4:00.”

Keith nodded and turned towards AJ. “Kosmo’s gotta go home now, AJ, better say bye.”

AJ wrapped her arms gently around Kosmo’s neck and pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “Bye Kosmo!”

Shiro and Keith both suppressed the urge to coo at the way Kosmo nuzzled back into her as she moved away. “Nice to meet you misser Keet!”

Shiro did let out a soft _aww_ at that, covering it with a cough so as not to embarrass Keith any further. Keith gave her a two-fingered mock salute and nodded toward Shiro, whistling sharply for Kosmo to follow as they turned and headed away from the park.

* * *

Romelle was still hard at work setting up for the party when AJ and Shiro walked in the door. Shiro helped her take off her shoes before removing his own and leading her by the still-sticky hand to where Sven was helping arrange a banner in the living room.

“Covered in chocolate, as ordered,” Shiro reported with a fond smirk.

Sven hopped down off the footstool and inspected AJ's shirt. He nodded his approval and put his hands on his hips. “Good work, Number One. Your next mission is bath time.”

AJ let out a groan of betrayal as Shiro laughed and saluted. “Of course, Captain,” he replied, taking AJ's reluctant hand and leading her to the bathroom.

“I can do it myself!” AJ assured him after he'd helped her out of her absolutely filthy shirt.

Shiro nodded fondly and turned off the tap after ensuring the water wasn't too hot for her. “I'll grab you some clothes and come back to check on you in 15 minutes, ok?”

She nodded gratefully and jumped into the tub with a splash.

Romelle had already laid out the outfit she wanted AJ to wear at the party, so Shiro grabbed it and headed back to the bathroom. He grinned as he realized it was the yellow shirt with the Starfleet insignia he'd gotten her for Christmas and some black leggings. Popping back in quickly, he laid them on the counter and gave her a wave before leaving her to finish up.

Feeling a buzz in his pocket, Shiro fished his phone out and smiled at the screen. Keith had sent him a picture of Kosmo passed out at the foot of his bed.

t-storm: AJ wore him out lol

t-storm: Hope your party is cool, thanks for letting me tag along for ice cream

Shiro's smile didn't waver as he changed clothes, considering what to send back.

trekashi: That’s *ruff* buddy ;)

trekashi: Really though, I’m so glad you came. Thanks again :)

He cursed under his breath as he heard Matt’s voice in his head, making fun of him for his frequent emojis.

t-storm: You’re too cute to block for bad puns but you’re on thin ice :P

Eyes wide and face bright red, Shiro stared at the message for what felt like hours. He cursed as the timer on his phone beeped. A swipe of his thumb dismissed the annoying sound and he went back to Keith’s message, mouth suddenly dry.

trekashi: ;)

His hand shook as he sent the reply and waited for Keith to respond.

t-storm: Lol

t-storm: Have fun at your party

t-storm: Studio time for me  

Shiro took a deep breath and thanked Keith again before heading to the bathroom to help AJ get dressed. She was already most of the way there when he knocked on the partially closed door and poked his head inside.

“Good work, kid! Get your hair brushed and then we can go play,” Shiro promised, handing a comb down from the vanity.

AJ looked up at him, big hazel eyes as wide as dinner plates. She handed the comb back shyly. “Can you do piggy tails? Please?” She thrust her bottom lip out.

Shiro poked at it, laughing as AJ’s eyes crossed to follow his finger. “Put that away and turn around,” he teased, taking the comb and turning to grab hair ties from the counter.

Several minutes of squabbling later, with styled hair and properly clothed, Shiro led AJ back to the living room where Sven and Romelle had collapsed into an exhausted pile on the couch. She dropped Shiro's hand and leapt up onto their laps, snuggling in between them. Shiro couldn't resist snapping a picture.

“Oh what a lovely hairdo, cupcake,” Romelle cooed, twirling a pigtail around on one finger.

“Uncle Shirwo did it for me!”

Romelle and Sven looked up at him with appreciative smiles. “You know,” Sven started, turning back to AJ. “I think what your uncle needs for his birthday is for you to say his name.”

AJ scrunched up her face for a moment and then nodded. “Uncle Tatashti.”

All three of them laughed while AJ pouted at their reactions to her attempt. “It’s ok, AJ. You’ll get there,” he assured with a wink.

She didn’t have long to pout before party guests started showing up and Romelle dislodged the cuddle pile to answer the door. Sven shot up and took his spot on the back porch next to the grill. Shiro raised an eyebrow at his hasty retreat before he heard Romelle welcoming Alfor and Melenor inside. He'd been hoping that Matt would arrive before them and they'd have time to sneak off somewhere under the pretense of keeping AJ busy, but luck wasn't quite on his side.

The three of them strode into the living room, Alfor carting two large, identically wrapped boxes and Melenor carrying a casserole dish. Depositing their burdens on the kitchen table, Alfor gave a friendly wave to Shiro and went out to man the grill with Sven while Melenor gave a rather more exuberant greeting.

"Takashi!" She called, throwing her arms around his shoulders and squeezing him into a surprisingly tight hug. "It's been ages, dear. How are you?"

He gave her back a quick pat before she pulled away. "Oh, you know. Can't really complain," he chuckled. His brain drew a blank for conversation topics to steer her away from what was always her next question and he felt it coming in her wry smile.

"So when is AJ getting some cousins? The heavens know we'll all be waiting until she's in college if we expect them to come from Allura."

Shiro tried to keep the grimace he felt in his soul from being obvious on his face. "Well, I'm not-" He was in the middle of saying _well I'm not seeing anyone_ as he had every time she'd asked for the last 3 years, but Romelle interrupted him.

"I'm surprised you didn't invite Keith along today." The knowing glint in her eye brought a bright blush to Shiro's cheeks.

His hand slid behind his head to rub his neck uncomfortably. "We're not, it isn't," he stammered as both women looked on in amusement. "Anyway he's working tonight."

Before either woman could embarrass him further, a wonderful shriek sounded from the front door. "Hey nerds!" Matt's angelic voice heralded from the entryway as he let himself in.

Pidge practically sprinted from the door into the kitchen and then on to the living room to launch herself into Shiro's arms. "Shiro!"

Shiro laughed and spun her around once before setting her back on the ground with a grin. "How's the new gig?"

Her face lit up and she took a deep breath before launching into a long-winded and rambling explanation of her new office and coworkers and projects she'd been put on. Shiro grinned as he watched her gesticulate wildly, not really understanding much of what she was saying but glad she seemed so happy with it. Matt came up beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Take a breath, Pidge," he suggested quietly, a fond smile on his face. "What's up, dork?" He turned his smile to Shiro.

Shiro pulled Matt in for a quick hug and cleared his throat. "You tell me. Any news?"

Matt's smile faltered and Shiro felt his heart stop. "We're supposed to get a big contract in the fall. I'll keep you posted."

Shiro's heart sank into his stomach and lower still, seeping through the floorboards. It wasn't even spring yet and the thought of being stuck where he was for another half a year dealt a crushing blow to the thin thread of hope he'd been holding onto that things would get better.

He plastered a smile onto his face. "Well I'll keep my resume updated," he chuckled, trying for nonchalance. It was a pointless charade; Matt and Pidge could tell he was devastated.

Matt nodded and scuffed at the floor with his sock, mumbling out a quiet apology.

"I've put out feelers at my lab, too. We'll find you something," Pidge assured, rapping her knuckles against Shiro's arm.

Shiro's smile faded into something a little more genuine. "Thanks guys, I really appreciate it."

An awkward silence overtook them for a brief moment until Matt gave Shiro a wicked grin. "Speaking of nothing in particular,” he started, leaning closer to Shiro to stage whisper. “You're not the only one with a new boyfriend," he teased, elbowing Pidge's shoulder. "Why don't you tell him about H-" 

Pidge wheeled and slapped Matt four times in rapid succession on his arm. "For the one millionth time: HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!"

Shiro laughed, glad Pidge hadn't caught on to the first part of Matt's sentence. He watched as they bickered good-naturedly for a while, scanning the living room and kitchen for AJ or Romelle, but they'd gone off to the backyard where Alfor was trying to teach AJ to kick a soccer ball.

The quiet moment overtook him, coalescing into a large lump in his throat. As the Holts teased each other and his brother and his in-laws played in the backyard, surrounded by friends that they’d all known for years, Shiro made a promise to himself. As soon as he got home, he’d start looking for work back in the area in earnest. Between his family, friends, and Keith, there was nowhere else he’d rather be. Thoughts of Keith made him blush and he made a note in his phone to ask Romelle if Kosmo was invited on Friday set for the next morning, once all the excitement had died down.

Matt finally ended whatever argument they’d been having while Shiro was lost in thought by covering Pidge’s entire face with his palm. “Anyway I got you some Grade A nerd shirt, let’s go tell Romelle it’s time for presents.”

Pidge squawked and clawed at his hand indignantly. Shiro shook his head and laughed, turning to head into the backyard and the rest of the party.

Romelle denied Matt's request to do presents before everyone had finished eating and Sven silenced his whining with a threatening shake of the spatula. They whiled away the time chatting and watching AJ run around the yard attempting cartwheels and somersaults in the grass. It was the most at peace Shiro had felt in a long time.

Burgers and sides thoroughly dispatched, Matt finally convinced everyone to head inside for presents. He was shaking in his seat as Shiro tore open the box, revealing a drone he and Pidge had modified to look like the Enterprise.

"Oh my god, you guys. I love it!" He laughed incredulously as he skimmed the manual with gleaming eyes.

Pidge adjusted her glasses and grinned. "We modded the controller too, there's a bunch of fun bells and whistles. We'll take it for a spin after this and let you go nuts."

Shiro thanked them both profusely and set the drone carefully back in the box. The rest of his haul was a little more mundane; several sweaters ("it's cold back east, right?"), sci-fi books, and a crayon drawing of Shiro and AJ playing with their dinosaurs ("I drew it at school for you!"). He and Sven had a tradition to open each other's gifts at the same time, waiting until the last box had opened.

Sven smiled a wry smile at him and handed his gift over. Shiro's expression was a mirror of his brother's, both of them sure they'd gotten something the other would cringe and groan over for weeks. Wordlessly, they tore into the packaging at the same time.

Shiro scoffed as he held up the shirt Sven got him. "Number One Star Wars Fan," Shiro read dryly, pointing at the ship in the middle of the classic Star Wars font. "And that would be the Enterprise." He rolled his eyes, but grinned at the awed expression on Sven's face as he held his own present.

It was the ugliest little troll Shiro could find on the internet. "A lykketroll... Takashi this is horrific and wonderful. I take back three bad things I've said about you today."

Shiro laughed and watched as Sven turned the ugly doll around in his hands. The dark, hooded eyes were a gruesome shade of yellow, sunken in and split by the gigantic, lumpy nose that curled down over a disconcerting smile. The little green tunic did little to make the doll feel cute, and in fact somehow made it seem even more menacing. Brown boots jutted out under the tan pants, curling at the toe to complete the ensemble. Shiro had kept it buried in his closet underneath several coats and sweaters for a month after he bought it, lest it escape in the night.

"I love it so much," Sven whimpered, wiping a fake tear from the corner of his eye. "Thank you, Takashi."

Shiro grinned and rapped his knuckles against Sven's outstretched hand.

"Daddy that doll is really ugly," AJ said with a cringe from the chair next to him.

Sven turned to her with a bright smile. "Daddy loves ugly dolls, muffin. You'll understand when you're a little older."

AJ wrinkled her nose but didn't offer any objections, too distracted by Romelle striding up to the table with a large cake. Half was iced in chocolate frosting, the other half in strawberry; a favorite icing flavor was yet another thing the twins disagreed upon. They sat with red faces as the group serenaded them with an enthusiastic and horribly off-key version of "Happy Birthday."

"Make a wish!" AJ demanded as they both took a deep breath in unison.

They chuckled and both closed their eyes for a moment. Shiro's face burned an even brighter red as he realized he hoped Keith would enjoy meeting his family on Friday, and his wish was for them to like him as well. He snapped his eyes open and met Sven's knowing smirk.

"Ready?" He grunted, willing his cheeks to cool.

Sven nodded and together they blew out the candles, to an excited round of applause begun by AJ.

After cake, everyone clambered into the backyard to watch Shiro and the Holts play with the new drone. They all gasped at the various lights and noises and upgrades the Holts had made while Shiro cackled like a boy half his age, taking daring dives and turns.

The guests started filtering out one by one as the sun slowly set over the hills beyond the fence. Matt and Pidge stayed a little later than most to help in the clean up efforts and entertain AJ so she stopped adding to the mess. They were beyond exhausted by the time everything had been deemed clean enough for Sven's high standards.

Pidge and Matt offered one last round of hugs before departing and AJ was begging for her bedtime story almost before the door had clicked shut. Shiro took the task with gusto, doing silly voices and faces for every character even though he was exhausted down to his core. Thankfully it didn't take long for the exhausted girl to fall fast asleep.

Romelle and Sven had long since retired for the night, so Shiro lumbered into the guest room and flopped down onto the bed. Wriggling out of his pants, he swore as they thumped to the ground, remembering his phone in his back pocket. Pulling it out to put it on the charger by the nightstand, he smiled at the list of notifications on the screen.

t-storm: just got home, hope the party was fun!

t-storm: don't forget to send me the address for friday

With heavy-lidded eyes, he replied with Sven and Romelle's address and the exciting news of Matt's present, promising to let Keith take it for a spin when he came over.

t-storm: sounds awesome! Glad your party was fun

t-storm: happy birthday kashi :) can't wait for friday

Shiro's cheeks flushed again and he read the message several times.

trekashi: Me neither :) I'm about to pass out though, I'll talk to you tomorrow <3

He didn't have time to fret about the unconscious use of a heart emoji before Keith replied.

t-storm: night <3

Shiro fell asleep with a wide smile on his face.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok listen... I know this took 1000 years... but it's 10k long so hopefully that makes up for it lmao. 
> 
> Come yell at me [on twitter!](https://twitter.com/lasersheith)

Shiro's alarm sounded bright and early and he found himself shutting it off with a smile on his face. He opened his chat with Keith and butterflies erupted in his stomach at the exchange they'd had the night before. A heart. He still couldn't believe he'd been tired enough to impulsively send a heart. And Keith had sent one back. 

He frowned at the time, just after 6:30. Would Keith be awake yet? Probably not, Shiro reasoned; Keith was a bit of a night owl and his first appointments of the day weren't usually until 10 or so. It was a little startling to realize how well he knew Keith's schedule. 

A soft giggle from the hallway and Romelle's fond voice urging AJ into the kitchen reminded Shiro of his own schedule for the day. He'd agreed to take AJ to school while Romelle met with a client, plus there were 4 new jobs in his inbox that he'd been meaning to apply to for days and he hadn't been very good at keeping up his cardio regimen while on vacation. Luckily helping AJ pretend to be a fighter jet or spaceship had kept him from feeling too guilty about his lack of weight lifting. 

He smiled fondly as he pulled on his running gear. Being home was always so nice. 

Shiro's phone buzzed in his pocket and he held his breath for a moment, wondering if Keith had gotten up early after all. The name on the screen made him grin, even if it wasn't the name he'd been hoping for. 

Top10AnimeBetrayal: me n pigeon are goin into work early so we can come hang out later. 2ish good? 

It had been so great to spend time with Matt and Pidge again after almost two months of not seeing them. The fact that Matt was willing to get up early in order to spend time with him warmed Shiro's heart. 

Shiro: perfect! The Enterprise is charging and I'm stoked to see what other mods you guys made :D 

Top10AnimeBetrayal: nerd

Top10AnimeBetrayal: ;) see ya around 2

Shiro laughed at the audacity Matt had to call any other human being a nerd and pocketed his phone. Sven was already washing up from breakfast and Romelle was helping AJ tie her shoes on the floor on the kitchen. 

“Takashi, your niece is going to be brilliant like you are. Look at these amazing bows!” Romelle called cheerfully despite the early hour as Shiro walked into the room and grabbed an apple from the counter. 

He leaned down and gave AJ a high five as he took a bite. She beamed up at him with pride and wiggled her shoes. “Mommy showed me bunny ears and I can do them all by myself now!” 

“Heck yeah!” Shiro ruffled her hair, earning another broad grin. Romelle wasn't nearly as enthusiastic, reaching up to flatten the fluffed locks back into place. 

AJ sat contentedly staring up at Shiro while he made funny faces in between bites as her parents frantically rushed around the house. Sven hurried back into the kitchen with his briefcase and packed AJ's lunch alongside his own. He slipped an extra cookie in the bag with a wink over his shoulder while Romelle was in her office gathering her things for the meeting. 

By 7:15, Sven and Romelle were covering AJ's cheeks in kisses and wishing both of them a good day, spurred out the door by Shiro's gentle reassurances that he'd get AJ to school on time and didn't want them to be late. By the time both concerned parents were pulling out of the driveway, AJ was already distracted by the book she'd pulled out of her backpack, happily reading at the kitchen table. 

Shiro smiled as he watched her. They still had a few minutes before they needed to leave and it would have felt wrong to discourage her love of books. It made him a little nervous, thinking about the book tucked away in his suitcase down the hall. He hoped she liked it. 

Thoughts of the book reminded him of Keith, and he pulled out his phone to check if there were any new messages in their chat. It was disappointingly empty.  _ It's still early,  _ he told himself.  _ He's still asleep, quit being weird.  _

With a shake of his head, Shiro pulled his shoes on. “Ready to go, chief?” He asked with a smile as AJ turned the last page. 

She hopped down from the chair and tucked her book back in the bag before hefting it over her shoulder. “Roger!” AJ replied with a salute, bounding over and reaching up clasp her hand around his. 

AJ chattered about school and how excited she was for her birthday party and what kind of cake her mom was going to make throughout their walk. Shiro did his best to be attentive and ask questions to keep her excited, but half of his mind was on the phone in his pocket that still hadn’t buzzed. As soon as AJ was safely checked in at school, he dug his phone out to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. Still nothing. 

He sighed, rubbing his left hand down his face and taking in a deep breath. It felt stupid to be so nervous about something so insignificant. Turning the ringer on as loud as it would go, he tucked the phone back into his pocket and took off at an easy jog down the sidewalk.

The sun warmed the dark shirt against his back as Shiro focused on the movements of his feet and maintaining his posture. His breaths came in a controlled rhythm in time with his shoes hitting the soft track. Shiro had always loved jogging through this park, ugly statue and all. There was something soothing about a little patch of nature in the middle of the bustling suburbs that helped him feel at peace. 

Even with the serenity all around him, his eyes still drifted to the clumps of people scattered throughout the park. Every time he heard a dog bark, Shiro whipped his head to see if it was Kosmo, thundering over again to say hello. He ran an extra two miles around the track, but his phone stayed quiet and there was no sign of Keith among the frisbees and footballs flying through the grass. 

Romelle was home by the time Shiro had showered and changed from his run, exhausted from her meeting with a notoriously difficult client. He made them both a cup of coffee in Sven’s fancy machine (one of the few appliances in the kitchen he was allowed to touch) and pulled up the extra chair in her office. 

“Rough meeting?” He asked with a smile as he handed over one of the cups and sat down. 

Romelle inhaled the steam rising from the cup with a weary smile. “I swear, these people think marketing is just posting on  _ facecloud _ or whatever nonsense is happening these days. They have no idea how advertising actually works.”

Shiro smiled sympathetically. “They sound like a bunch of jerks.” He took a long drink of his own mug and tried not to let his thoughts stray to  _ his _ job. The one he’d be back to in less than a week. An involuntary shudder ran down his spine. 

“They really are,” she agreed, shaking her head and letting an unamused huff of air filter out of her nose. “But luckily I don’t need them and they do need me, so I have nothing to worry about.”

Shiro smiled at the determination and confidence in her voice. 

“And that’s the attitude  _ you  _ need to find a new job.” Shiro paled at the words as she fixed him with a stern gaze. “I haven’t forgotten about threatening to gut your resume,” she waved at his laptop. “Let’s see it then.” 

He grimaced and turned on the computer, even though he knew this was coming. Opening the document labeled  _ t_shirogane_resume9  _ he turned the screen towards Romelle and sat back, trying to shove down the anxiety stabbing at his chest.

Romelle spent a solid two hours pouring over Shiro’s resume; asking questions, fixing weak wording, tweaking fonts and styles. Shiro felt much more hopeful about landing something new when she’d finished. She’d even helped him spruce up a few different job hunting sites and apply for a few things nearby. 

Neither of them had any energy for cooking when it was time for lunch, instead deciding on heating up party leftovers on paper plates. Shiro was beyond thankful for Romelle’s advice and offered to help her with anything she had going around the house after they ate, but she just smiled at him and shook her head. 

“Go play with your ridiculous toy, you need a break.” She kissed the top of his head fondly, just as he’d seen her do with AJ more times than he could count. It felt a little patronizing, but he knew her intentions were sweet. 

He grabbed the drone off of the charging station he’d set up in the living room and dashed outside with a wide grin. 

* * *

Shiro heard the protesting rumbles of Pidge’s old Tahoe long before he stuck his head over the back gate to check down the street for his friends’ arrival. It thundered along, engine whining and sputtering, until Pidge whipped it into the driveway in a maneuver that wouldn’t have looked out of place in an action movie. 

Both Holts exited the vehicle calmly, as though it were completely commonplace to spin a large SUV into a 90 degree turn for no apparent reason. Shiro shook his head fondly and raised his arm up as he opened the gate for them. 

“I can’t believe you still have that thing, driving it like that,” he said with a laugh as they made their way into the backyard. 

Pidge scoffed. “What are you talking about? I’m a great driver.” She grabbed the controller from Shiro’s hand and began adjusting settings before Shiro could protest. 

“She hasn’t even killed us a single time, Shiro,” Matt dismissed with a lopsided grin and a companionable arm around Shiro’s shoulders as they followed Pidge further into the yard to show off all the features they added to the drone. 

Shiro laughed and shrugged Matt’s arm away. “I helped you hook up the trailer hitch on the U-haul, I know you have a car. One that doesn’t sound like it’s ten seconds from exploding at any given time.” 

Matt paled and ran a hand through his hair, gathering it up and tying it loosely at the base of his neck. “Why would I drive when Pidge is right here? Anyway, where’s your boytoy? I’m sure he’ll wanna see this baby in action.” 

The rapid shift in conversation brought a smattering of blush to Shiro’s cheeks. “He’s not my…  _ that,”  _ Shiro murmured, crossing his arms and watching as Pidge cackled and flew the drone in a daring loop. “And we haven’t actually talked since last night.” 

Pidge’s thumbs froze on the control sticks and two sets of unimpressed hazel eyes bored into Shiro’s. He was spared the full brunt of at least Pidge’s judgemental gaze as she quickly turned to land the drone safely on the grass, but Matt’s disappointed frown was more than enough to have him shoving his hands in his pockets and scuffing the dusty ground with the tip of his shoe. Pidge flipped the off switch and rested her fists on her hips, shaking her head. 

“What’s the last thing you said to him?” She demanded.

Shiro pulled out his phone and smiled at the last line in their conversation. “I told him my party was fun and I was tired so we said good night.” He didn’t want to admit his accidental boldness, sure that he’d never hear the end of it. 

Pidge let her eyes drift to Matt’s where he stood next to Shiro, a wordless conversation passing through the air and putting Shiro on edge. The silence stretched on for a long moment and made Shiro even more nervous. “What? You know I hate it when you guys do this,” he grumbled. 

He glanced down at the screen again, tapping twice to turn it back on, when Matt swiped it from his grasp and tossed it to Pidge in one fluid motion. She ducked to drop the controller gently on the ground and caught it without missing a beat. “I  _ really  _ hate it when you guys do this,” he repeated with an exaggerated groan, burying his face in his hands. 

Pidge raised an eyebrow and shook her head, letting out a low whistle. “That bad?” Matt asked with a grimace. 

She handed the phone over with a sigh and picked up the drone’s controller at her feet, powering it back on. Matt’s eyes glided across the screen and Shiro watched through splayed fingers as a teasing grin spread across his cheeks. “Aw, you nerds are adorkable.” 

Shiro let out another groan but watched as Pidge guided the drone up and turned on a few of the flashier augmentations. Without her having to say a word, Matt switched to Shiro’s camera and snapped a few pictures. 

“Late start to the day,” Matt read aloud as he typed, “but look how cool this is!” He attached the pictures he’d just taken and handed the phone back as Shiro stared at him in dumbfounded silence. “You never said good morning. If he’s half the nerd you are, he’s panicking about it, too. You guys are helpless.” 

Shiro cleared his throat, realizing that Matt was probably right. It did seem rude, in retrospect, to tell Keith he’d talk to him tomorrow and then never message him. That was probably all that it was. He watched for a few minutes, willing the gray light next to Keith’s icon to turn green. 

“Stooooooop,” Pidge whined, sending the drone flying just a hair too close to Shiro’s head for comfort. He ducked down out of reflex and took the hint to slide his phone back into his pocket. “He’s probably just busy, it’s the middle of the afternoon on a weekday. I swear.” She trailed off, shaking her head. 

Shiro crossed his arms and frowned at her. “Oh and you’re suddenly a relationship expert? How long have you and Hunk been  _ talking  _ again?” 

The drone made another near-miss, this time with the orange tree in the corner of the yard. Pidge twisted her head sharply to the side and glared at Shiro before turning back to flying. “We’re just friends! I can have friends without dating them!” 

The protest fell on deaf ears. “It’s been like 2 months. They’re super geeky and sappy. It’s kinda sweet actually, nerd-love at first engineering project.” Matt widened his stance and prepared to dodge a drone as the words left his mouth, but Pidge just stewed quietly. 

Shiro and Matt both knew that meant she was busy plotting her revenge and looked at each other with dread. “So how about you, Matt?” Shiro stuttered, desperate to change the subject. “You’re doing a lot of making fun of our love lives, but last I checked Allura still had you blocked on Twitter.” 

Matt beamed, pulling out his phone while Pidge wailed in agony. “I’m so glad you asked!” He scrolled to his photos and moved to stand closer to Shiro. “This is my future ex-husband. He’s tall, dark, handsome, and possibly a serial killer.” 

Shiro frowned and looked down at the pictures as Matt scrolled by. A disgruntled moan from beside him drew Shiro's head toward Pidge. 

“He’s definitely a serial killer. You’re going to end up in a pickle barrel in his basement.” 

Matt scoffed. “Pidge, this is California. No one has a basement.” 

Shiro opened his mouth to reply but closed it again as words failed him. He stopped looking at the questionable photos as both men seemed to be wearing fewer articles of clothing the farther Matt scrolled. “What?” Was all Shiro managed to sputter. 

“He’s one of the business development guys at the lab. A little bit on the unhinged side, but so, so hot.” Matt hurriedly locked his screen as he reached another picture that was even more risque. Shiro didn’t offer further commentary. 

“Well, uh, good luck, I guess? Try not to get murdered before you get me a job out here,” Shiro said with a laugh.

Matt grinned and nodded. “Don't worry man, we'll get you all set up before you know it.” He slapped Shiro lightly on the arm and walked over to Pidge. “Quit being a drone hog, let the birthday boy play with his new toy,” he chided as he reached for the controller. 

A minor scuffle ensued and all Shiro could do was laugh as they wrestled for the large piece of plastic, both halting several times to adjust a dangerous trajectory. Pidge was ultimately victorious, but handed the controller over to Shiro with a sheepish smile while Matt dusted himself off indignantly. 

They each took a few turns on the controls, watching the drone zip through the air, twisting and turning, lights flashing. Shiro couldn’t help reaching into his pocket every few minutes to see if Keith had responded yet, but his notification screen remained empty.

Sven’s car was too quiet to hear it pulling into the driveway, his arrival announced only by his door slamming shut. He stuck his head through the gate a few moments later and shook his head fondly. “Katie, the corpse of your car is blocking my garage,” he said with a teasing smirk.  

Pidge laughed and swatted playfully at Shiro’s elbow as he continued with his turn on the controls, completely ignoring his brother. “We should probably be heading out anyway, Matt hasn’t been home for dinner in three weeks and I think mom is about to go nuclear.” 

“It hasn’t been three weeks!” Matt protested, frowning as he counted on his fingers. “Oh shit…” he trailed off, face going pale. 

Shiro chuckled and landed the drone on the porch before pulling both of them into a quick hug. “You guys are coming to AJ’s party on Friday, right?” 

“And miss finally meeting  _ the  _ Keith?” Matt scoffed, patting Shiro on the back fondly. “We’ll be there.” 

As if mentioning his name had summoned him, Shiro felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. His chat with Keith was one of the very few notifications he hadn’t muted and his pulse quickened as he fought off the urge to check instead of saying goodbye to his friends and helping Sven bring groceries inside. It was a torturous ten minutes. 

Shiro slipped from the kitchen into the bathroom, not wanting to earn any more teasing after the afternoon he'd had. Sure enough, Keith had finally responded. 

t-storm: That's so awesome! Can't wait to see it in action Friday! 

t-storm: Sorry for being MIA all day, was working with my uncles on my bike 

Shiro's eyes widened as the picture appeared. Keith was sitting on a red and black motorcycle giving a thumbs up. The edge of his ponytail was just poking out of the bottom of his helmet and the visor was up, showing off his wide grin. His eyes sparkled in the sunlight, almost seeming to glow. 

Shiro saved the photo and and blinked down at the screen.  _ Just be normal, don't make it weird,  _ Shiro coached himself as he tried to come up with a response.  _ Just play it cool.  _

trekashi: Nice! Motorcycles are hot

He clapped his hand over his eyes as he realized what he'd done. Thankfully, it wasn't the heavy prosthetic that was doing its best to squeeze his phone in half.  _ That was definitely _ **_not_ ** _ playing it cool.  _ He resisted the urge to backtrack or explain further, hoping Keith would change the topic. 

t-storm: ;) 

Shiro paled, taking a moment to collect himself.  _ He’s flirting! Flirt back, you used to be good at this!  _ He took a deep breath before replying. 

trekashi: Oh I see, using your cute dog and cool motorcycle to pick up chicks

He knew it wasn't his smoothest line, but the faint panic of wondering if Keith wasn't actually interested in men at all had his eyes glued to his phone screen as Keith typed.  _ He does art for gay ships, he's gotta be at least a little gay right? Is that homophobic? Focus, Takashi, god.  _

t-storm: How dare you assume I'm heterosexual

Shiro let out an audible sigh of relief. 

trekashi: You could be bi, idk your life 

t-storm: I could be

t-storm: But I am not 

Shiro felt his chest swell with his rising hopes.  _ Ok say something funny. Let him know it's a good thing.  _

trekashi: Oh cool 

trekashi: I don't have a lot of gay friends, actually 

trekashi: Not in a weird way, I'm also gay, I meant IRL 

He put his phone down on the counter and closed his eyes, wishing he hadn't waited to respond and could call Matt or Pidge in for back up. The counter vibrated with the buzz of Keith's reply and Shiro almost didn't want to look. 

t-storm: Really I had no idea 

It was sent along with a screenshot of Shiro's Tumblr profile, the words “big gay nerd” circled in red. 

trekashi: Right 

trekashi: I should also add awkward probably 

He turned on the cold water and splashed his face a few times, cringing at another reply waiting for him as he dried himself off. 

t-storm: That's covered under nerd 

t-storm: Maybe add cute though 

Shiro picked up his phone and smirked at the response. He was determined not to let Keith know how flustered it made him. 

trekashi: I'll add “cute” to mine if you add “hot biker” to yours :P

Keith's reply was immediate.

t-storm: done 

Shiro bit back a laugh, realizing he'd been in the bathroom for far too long. He sent a laughing face and pocketed his phone, heading back into the kitchen to see if Sven needed any help getting started on dinner. Romelle was already at his side, chatting quietly while they chopped and measured. It dragged the corners of his mouth up into a fond smile. 

Leaving them to their private moment, Shiro sat down in the living room next to AJ and absentmindedly started drawing on one of the many sheets of paper strewn about the floor. AJ hummed softly under her breath as she colored, pausing to show off her dinosaurs and spaceships before resuming her artistry. Shiro's phone vibrated in his pocket again and he pulled it out expectantly. 

His shoulders shook in silent laughter as he looked at the screenshot Keith had sent. Keith's bio now read “K | 18+ | he | leave me alone | @trekashi says I'm a hot biker.” 

t-storm: put your money where your mouth is Kashi ;)

Shiro's thumb flew over the keyboard in an inelegant smash of letters. 

trekashi: I can't believe you. Hang on. 

Clicking open his blog, Shiro went to the edit page and quickly added “@thunderstorm-darkness-official says I'm cute” to the end of his bio. He took a quick screenshot and sent it to Keith along with a wink of his own. 

t-storm: yessssss

Shiro grinned and tucked his phone away to listen to the epic saga of Princess Rex, the benevolent queen-slash-astronaut-slash-genius inventor of AJ's latest utopia. Eventually it required several diagrams and a few dolls to explain properly, but Shiro felt confident he understood the rich culture and history by the time they needed to wash up for dinner. 

After a “clean hands high five” and a race to the kitchen, Shiro's phone started buzzing again. Knowing Sven and Romelle's hatred of phones at the table, he quietly excused himself to see why he’d gotten so many messages. 

t-storm: did you ever ask about kosmo coming on friday btw?

t-storm: also what should i wear

t-storm: idk how to hang out with kids 

Shiro laughed quietly to himself as he answered the rapid-fire messages. 

trekashi: I forgot to ask, we’re eating dinner so I have them cornered. I’ll let you know in a minute. 

trekashi: I’m fully expecting you to show up in your sexy biker outfit just fyi 

He paused a moment before adding a winking face, not sure if that made it seem less or more overt of a flirtation. 

t-storm: pffft ok 

t-storm: your funeral

Shiro was sure Keith had no idea how true the statement was and spent a moment trying to figure out a response. Before he could, Sven turned his head and loudly cleared his throat, giving Shiro a nasty look while gesturing back to his spot at the table. 

trekashi: :) 

trekashi: Sven is glaring at me, I gotta get back to dinner 

t-storm: ttyl

Shiro set his phone to silent, fearing incurring more of Sven’s wrath (or worse, Romelle’s) if it went off again while they ate. He put it back into his pocket and sat down again. Satisfied smiles greeted him as he picked up his fork and started eating, adding polite noises of interest as AJ talked at her usual lightning speed. 

When she paused for a few heaping bites of mashed potatoes, Shiro took his chance. “Hey AJ, maybe you should ask your mom if your new buddy can come on Friday.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her and held up his fingers to mime dog ears at the top of his head. 

Her eyes lit up like the sun. “Mommy! Can he? Can he please? He’ll be real good,” AJ begged, turning her best and biggest puppy dog eyes to Romelle. 

“Who on Earth?” She didn’t even get to finish the statement before AJ erupted.

“Kosmo! He’s a dog. Misser Keet’s dog. He’s big and nice and soft and I love him. Keet is nice too, he’s uncle Shirwo’s friend.” 

Sven sighed, giving Shiro an exasperated look. “Just make sure no one in your class is allergic, I’ve already gotten enough crap from the PTA for bringing peanut butter cookies for Thanksgiving,” he huffed, mumbling under his breath. 

Romelle laughed and shook her head. “I’m sure he’s very well behaved and you’ll be completely in charge of cleaning up any messes he might make, right?” She gave AJ a pointed look. 

“Yeah!” AJ squealed triumphantly, holding up her hand for Shiro to slap. 

He celebrated their victory and quickly changed topics before Romelle could interrogate him further about Keith. The rest of dinner went by with little excitement and Sven shoved him out of the kitchen when he offered to help do the dishes, telling him to spend time with his niece instead. A rousing after-dinner game of Dinosaur Princesses in Outer Space and intermittent chatting with Keith took up the rest of his evening until bedtime. 

Kosmo’s invitation secured, Shiro spent Thursday assuaging Keith’s fears of how to act at the party (“They’re 5 Keith, they’re not going to care or remember. You have a cute dog.”), applying for more jobs, and finally getting around to replying to comments on his latest fic. AJ was beyond excited, buzzing around the house helping Romelle tidy everything for the party. 

Friday finally arrived and Shiro was nearly as elated as AJ as he walked her home from school. She had on a sparkly pink tiara that Romelle had nearly destroyed while trying to bedazzle  _ Birthday Girl  _ in fake gemstones across the front. Thankfully, a timely intervention by Sven and a hot glue gun had saved the day and AJ was beaming as she skipped down the sidewalk in front of Shiro. 

Pidge’s car was already parked in the driveway, leaving plenty of room for Sven this time, when they got home. Matt, Pidge, and a man Shiro didn’t recognize were hefting a large box out of the trunk. AJ ran up and launched herself at Pidge’s leg with a delighted squeal. 

“The birthday girl is here!” Pidge announced enthusiastically, leaning down to pry AJ from her hip and heft her up into a side carry, planting a messy kiss onto her cheek. 

“What’s that!?” AJ pointed excitedly to the box. 

Matt grinned through his gritted teeth as he held his side of the box. “You’ll. See. When. We. Do. Presents,” he grunted, turning pleading eyes to Shiro. 

Shiro laughed and set AJ’s backpack down next to Pidge before relieving Matt of his burden. He smiled at the man across from him as he helped walk the large box into the open garage. “You must be Hunk, nice to meet you. I’m Shiro.” 

Hunk grinned back at him. “Yeah! Glad to be here, Pidge has been raving about how cool you guys are for months. Stoked for the party!” 

They set the large box down and Shiro stepped around it, offering his hand for a shake. Hunk ignored the gesture, pulling Shiro in for a bone-crushing hug instead. He squeaked out a laugh, patting Hunk on the back with an awkward smile as the larger man let him go. 

“Sorry, I’m a little amped. Can’t wait to see you-know-who’s face when she sees you-know-what,” Hunk whispered conspiratorially, using one hand to cover his mouth from AJ’s view and the other to point conspicuously towards the box. 

Pidge walked up to them, a squirming AJ in tow, with a wide grin. “I’m sure Sven is gonna kill us, but she’s gonna love it,” she added with a wide grin. 

AJ looked between Pidge and Hunk with wide eyes. “What is it?” She wiggled enough that Pidge gently set her down to go inspected it further. 

Matt had no intentions of letting her get off quite so easily though, dropping her backpack onto the concrete and scooping her up into his arms. “What’s in the boooox?” He cried, shaking her around. 

AJ squealed and giggled as he blew a raspberry on her stomach. “Maaaaatt, quit it!” The LEDs in her shoes lit up as she flailed, kicking into his shoulders. 

“You’re such a dweeb,” Pidge muttered fondly as Matt pretended the tiny blows were nearly fatal, letting AJ out of his safely out of his grasp before dramatically falling onto the floor with his tongue poking out of his mouth.

Hunk laughed at Matt’s antics, spurred on by AJ jumping onto his stomach and initiating a tickle fight she had no hope of winning. Shiro was about to intervene when Hunk stepped in and scooped her out of harm’s way. 

“Fear not my liege! I’ll save you!” Hunk cried, depositing AJ safely behind Pidge. 

AJ giggled. “What’s a liege?” She stumbled a bit over the word, staring up at Hunk with a tilted head. 

Hunk knelt down next to her, bowing his head. “It means that I’ve sworn my allegiance to you, Birthday Princess.” He completed the gesture with a dramatic sweep of his hand toward her. 

Shiro covered a laugh behind his hand as AJ wrapped her arms around Hunk’s neck in a bear hug. “Does that mean you’ll get me ice cream?” 

“Uhhh,” Hunk replied, looking toward Pidge. 

She rolled her eyes but smiled at them. “Only if your mom says it’s ok. Let’s go ask.” Pidge turned to walk inside, gesturing behind herself for them to follow. 

Matt finished brushing himself off and shook his head. “So what’s left for party prep? Balloons?” 

Shiro hung his head. Romelle and Sven both hated blowing up balloons and he and Matt had been stuck on balloon-duty since AJ’s third birthday. “I should have gotten Sven an air compressor for our birthday,” he whined. “Let’s see where Romelle has things set up.” 

“Ah come on,” Matt said with a cheeky smile, putting a hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “It’ll give you plenty of practice for Kei-” 

The rest of his sentence was cut off as Shiro grabbed him, pulling him into a headlock. “It’ll give me what?” He asked, rubbing his prosthetic knuckles against Matt’s hair. The static electricity made it even more wild than the ruffling. 

“It’ll be a fun friendship activity we can complete together,” Matt choked out, fingers scrambling against the forearm threatening to cut off his air supply.  

“Good save,” Shiro replied, finally letting Matt go and shaking his head at the way he gulped down his next few breaths. “Quit being a drama queen, I didn’t squeeze that hard.” 

Matt glared at him while he fixed his tangled mess of hair but didn’t respond. Shiro laughed and headed inside to find the balloon station, not looking to see if Matt followed. 

Romelle had set out two chairs, four packages of balloons, and a few large buckets for the finished products out in the backyard by the gate. Shiro opened the gate, welcoming in the first few guests and sending them inside to set down their gifts and play whatever game Hunk and Pidge were using to distract AJ from her lack of ice cream. 

Matt had insisted on making the balloon blowing a competition, dividing the balloon packages between them. “Whoever wins gets to give AJ her present first,” he declared smugly. 

Shiro offered him a challenging smirk and stuck out his prosthetic to shake on it. “Deal.” Matt yelped as Shiro squeezed his hand a little harder than was strictly necessary just to prove his point. 

He checked his phone quickly for the time, Keith was set to arrive at 4:30 and he didn’t want to be in the middle of such a ridiculous contest when he arrived. 18 minutes. Surely he could blow up 30 balloons in 18 minutes. 

16 minutes later, Shiro was half a package from finished with his balloons and more than a little lightheaded. He was wholly unprepared for the sight that greeted him when a deep rumble drew his eyes to the street in front of the house. Keith had pulled up two minutes early on his gleaming red and black motorcycle. 

Time seemed to slow as Keith pulled off his helmet, reaching up to shake out his hair as he killed the engine. As if the leather jacket, black fingerless gloves, and stylish aviator sunglasses that Keith wore hadn’t already been a personal attack, the sidecar attached to the main body where Kosmo sat obediently, tongue lolling out to one side as he panted, wearing little dog-goggles over his eyes, nearly killed Shiro on the spot. 

“Kosmo!” AJ wailed, sprinting through the gate as fast as her little legs would take her. Shiro hadn’t even realized she’d been outside. 

Keith grinned as Kosmo’s tail thudded against the side and he looked up expectantly. He reached down and pulled the goggles off of Kosmo’s face, patting him lightly on the head. “Go on,” he prompted quietly. 

Kosmo leapt out of the car and closed the gap in a few short strides. AJ squealed with delight as Kosmo’s tongue sought out the remnants of party snacks still lightly coating her cheeks and fell to the ground with a gasp of laughter. 

“Easy buddy,” Keith chided softly, running his hand along Kosmo’s back. Kosmo sat down, giving AJ a moment to catch her breath and stand. 

“Thanks for coming to my party, missir Keet,” AJ murmured shyly as she scratched under Kosmo’s ear. Keith pocketed his sunglasses and smiled at her, his eyes gleaming almost indigo in the afternoon sunlight. 

The balloon in Shiro’s mouth popped, exploding tiny shreds of rubber all over his face, cutting off Keith’s response. A few children laughed after their initial startled yelps and Shiro could feel his face growing hot as AJ and Keith turned to him in surprise. He could feel Matt’s eyes boring into him, desperate to make a joke, but Shiro stood up and started walking into the front yard before he could say anything. 

“Hey Keith, thanks for coming,” Shiro said with a bright smile, even more nervous than he’d been at their first meeting after the past two days of heavy flirting over discord. 

One corner of Keith’s mouth ticked up higher and a faint dusting of blush spread across his cheeks. “You uh, here,” he stuttered, reaching up and pulling a neon green piece of rubber from Shiro’s hair. 

“Oh,” Shiro felt his own face growing hot, certain that his blush matched Keith’s. “Thanks, we were blowing up balloons for the kids to play with and mine kind of… exploded.” 

Keith nodded. “Yeah, I saw. Or, heard.” 

Shiro cleared his throat. “Right, well, there are drinks and stuff inside if you wanna-” 

Matt cut him off by barreling into his shoulder and holding a hand out. “You must be Keith! It’s so nice to finally meet you! I’m Matt!” Keith took his hand and shook it, but Matt held on long after the shake was done. “Shiro hasn’t shut up about you since October, when’s the weddi-” 

Shiro reached out in a blind panic and shoved Matt’s shoulder back hard enough to send him reeling. He tripped over his own feet and tumbled into the short grass. “Anyway, ignore Matt, he’s the worst. Do you drink Sprite?” Shiro laughed awkwardly and grabbed Keith’s wrist, half-dragging him into the backyard and through the open sliding glass door to the kitchen. 

Romelle looked up from her conversation with Melenor just in time to see Shiro and Keith walk in. “Oh, is this him?” Her eyes glinted with mischief. Shiro let out a pained groan as she strode over and pulled Keith into a hug. “Takashi is so fond of you, Keith. It’s great to finally meet you! He showed me the book the two of you made and it’s absolutely wonderful. AJ’s going to love it so much.” 

Shiro let out a shaky breath.  _ Ok that wasn’t as bad as it could have been,  _ he assured himself as Keith politely thanked her for having him and they made small talk for a few minutes. 

“I win, by the way!” Matt poked his head inside and shook a bright pink balloon into the kitchen in Shiro’s direction. 

Shiro stared up at the ceiling before hanging his head in defeat. Keith raised an eyebrow. “Matt and his sister and her boyfriend made something really cool for AJ and now we have to give her our gift after them,” he explained with a disappointed sigh. 

Keith’s face scrunched in concern and he reached up to squeeze Shiro’s shoulder. “She’ll still really like it, Kashi. It’s a great book.” 

The quiet reassurance and determined gaze made Shiro feel at ease almost instantly. He smile at Keith and relaxed his posture. “Right, of course. She’s gonna love it.” 

Romelle cleared her throat and Keith dropped his hand. Shiro missed the warmth on his shoulder as soon as it left. “Takashi, most of the kids are here. Why don’t you all go see what AJ wants to play first while we finish dinner?” She suggested, nodding towards the backyard. 

He stammered out an agreement and took Keith back outside to find AJ. 

* * *

“I wanna play…” AJ paused, staring around the room intently, meeting the eye of every other partygoer as the fate of their entertainment rested in her tiny hands. “Zombie tag!” 

Whispers overtook the group quietly at first and then quickly grew more animated as everyone began demanding to know who would be Patient Zero. “First Zombie is…” AJ paused again for dramatic effect, her gaze eventually landing on Shiro. “Uncle Shirwo!” 

Giggles broke out as everyone scattered away from Shiro as fast as they could. “Ok, but I’m not gonna go easy on you guys just because you’re little,” he warned teasingly as he jumped toward the closest group. 

His eyes landed on Keith as the kids scattered in all directions. “Better run, Keith,” he warned with a wide grin. “If I tag you, you have to be a zombie too.” 

Keith laughed and took off on a mad dash across the backyard, out of Shiro’s long reach. Despite his boasting, Shiro did start off the game at what he determined to be a fair pace. He waited a few minutes before finally tagging his first victim, a little boy that screamed in horror at his transformation into a tag-zombie. They laughed together for a moment before heading back out on their mission. 

Every time Shiro drew in close to a group, Keith would suddenly appear, bounding in and yelling for the kids to “scatter! quick!” Shiro had half a mind to call it cheating, especially as Kosmo did his best to trip Shiro up at every turn, wiggling between his legs before running back to Keith’s side. 

Shiro came close to capturing his quarry more than a few times, but Keith moved like liquid. He would feint and dodge, leaping up onto the fence or scaling the lone orange tree that looked as though it could barely hold his weight. It was mesmerizing to watch, almost like a dance. Shiro’s only hope of drawing him out was to go for a small pack of the few remaining ‘humans’ and moan dejectedly as Keith and Kosmo leapt in to save them, hoping he’d be fast enough to catch Keith before he danced out of reach again. 

Before long, it was the entire yard of children plus Shiro desperately trying to tag Keith while distracting Kosmo with snacks. “Uncle Shirwo, you gotta get him!” AJ growled as she lunged at Keith again and he nimbly dodged by scrambling up the fence with a laugh. 

Their eyes met and the challenge Keith presented in his gaze was one that Shiro was powerless but to accept. “Oh I’ll get him,” Shiro promised, eyes narrowing. It was down to the two of them and Shiro was beyond determined now. 

Keith hopped down, dodging a sea of little hands reaching out frantically to tag him. Shiro moved against the swarm, off to the side, cutting off Keith’s escape. He realized too late that they were funneling him right back toward the tree and Keith would be the undisputed champion if he managed to climb higher than Shiro could reach. 

Kosmo yipped playfully, weaving between his feet again and a reckless ploy took hold of Shiro’s mind. Not giving himself time to think too hard on it, he bounded over Kosmo as far as he could directly towards Keith. 

They slammed into each other much harder than Shiro had anticipated, sending them both sprawling to the ground in a tangle of limbs. With wide eyes and an apology already forming in his mouth, Shiro sat up on his elbows, bracketing Keith on the ground. He paused as he stared down at Keith’s face, his hair fanned out behind him on the grass, chest heaving for breath. Keith’s cheeks blossomed with blush as Shiro felt his own face growing warmer. 

“I uh, sorry,” Shiro stammered, heart racing. 

Keith blinked up at him with parted lips, but said nothing. Neither of them moved as they stared into each other’s eyes. 

Shiro let out a gasp as AJ jumped onto his back. “He got you! We’re all zombies now! Arrggghhh!” She squealed, laughing and wrapping her arms around Shiro’s neck. “Piggy ride!” She demanded pleadingly. 

Shiro laughed and stood, hardly noticing the weight of AJ on his shoulders. He reached down and helped Keith to his feet, laughing as Keith made a show of brushing himself off. 

By the time Shiro and Keith had finished carting at least half of the kids around the yard on their backs, Romelle and her mother were finished preparing dinner and set about the Herculean task of getting fifteen preschoolers to wash up and sit down at the picnic blankets Sven had laid out. Kosmo made an incredibly cute nuisance of himself, sitting down next to AJ and resting his head on her leg to stare at her while she ate. Despite Keith’s repeated finger-wagging, he refused to budge and AJ managed to sneak him a few bites when Shiro had Keith distracted. 

Shiro’s heart was still thumping from their game and he couldn’t help but read into the way Keith’s knee kept bumping into his as they chatted and ate. He was even more gorgeous in the slowly setting sun than he’d been by starlight and Shiro’s shirt was paying the price for his ogling. Even AJ’s shirt bore fewer stains than his by the time dinner and cake were finished. 

It was finally time for presents and AJ tore through the myriad of smaller boxes with glee. Several Barbie dolls, a few new dinosaurs, and a stack of coloring books made up most of her haul. She exuberantly thanked each guest as she opened their gifts, showing them off for the small crowd one at a time. 

Shiro begrudgingly helped Hunk haul the massive box from the garage into the backyard. Everyone waited with bated breath as AJ tore off the colorful paper and Romelle helped her pull apart the cardboard underneath. A glittering pink power wheels jeep sat in the rubble and AJ’s eyes went wider than dinner plates. She gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. 

Tears welled up in her eyes and she buried her face in Romelle’s hip for a moment before turning back around and running to hug Matt, Pidge and Hunk in turn. “It’s so pretty, thank you so much,” she sniffled. 

Everyone watched in amazement (or abject horror, in Sven’s case) from their seats on the grass as she took the car on a ride around the yard. They’d outfitted it with a working stereo, a horn that roared like t-rex (straight from Jurassic Park), and color-changing undercarriage controlled from the dashboard. 

Shiro smiled as he watched, but his hands clenched around the wrapped book he held. Keith’s hand moved to gently cover Shiro’s prosthetic and he turned to look into Keith’s eyes. 

“She’s gonna love it, don’t worry,” he whispered softly enough that only Shiro could hear. 

Shiro nodded and loosened his grip on the package, but Keith’s hand stayed atop his. They both returned to watching AJ zip around the backyard, trying out all the bells and whistles the car had to offer. It felt like it took an eternity, but Shiro swallowed down the lump in his throat and slowly turned his hand until his palm was facing up. Keith’s hand moved with him, sliding over the smooth metal until their fingers were laced. 

Letting out a shaky breath, Shiro turned with a shy smile. Keith was staring down at their joint hands, face red and lips pursed. He finally looked up, more than a little apprehension flooding his expression until he took in Shiro’s smile. They stared at each for a long moment, neither saying a word. 

“Ok sweetheart, why don’t you put the car away for a minute while Takashi and his friend show you your last gift?” Sven’s voice calling his name pulled Shiro from his trance and he squeezed Keith’s fingers softly before letting go and standing up. 

He took a few steps before he realized Keith wasn’t following. “Hey, come on. You worked just as hard as I did on this,” Shiro coaxed with a teasing smile. 

Keith huffed, but stood and made his way over to the table that was acting as present-central. AJ grinned as they each took a seat on either side of her. Shiro laid the book down on the table and nodded for her to open it.

The wrapping paper disappeared in a flurry of tiny fists, leaving AJ staring down at the book’s cover in awe. “It’s me!” She squealed, pointing and looking back and forth between Shiro and Keith. “I’m on the book!”

Shiro grinned and nodded. “You sure are! This is a book we made for you. I wrote it and Keith drew all the pictures.” 

AJ’s eyes went even wider and she flipped the cover open, shrieking again when she saw the first page. It was one of Keith's finest works, at least in Shiro's perhaps-biased opinion. AJ stood on top of a moon, her bright blue eyes shimmering through her space helmet, which was topped with a crown. She was holding a flag with a grinning green dinosaur on a pink background while the rest of the page was black and navy, dotted with stars and planets. 

She held her finger over the large text and began to confidently sound out the words. “Princess AJ is the bravest astronaut Earth has ever seen!” Her voice boomed with pride as she read the words. 

Shiro's eyes swam with tears as she clapped and squealed in between reading each line and pointing out all of the little details Keith added to the backgrounds. She seemed just as excited about the book as she had been for the flashy new car and Shiro felt silly for having been worried at all. He tore his eyes from AJ to glance at Keith and was surprised to find him already staring back with a wobbly, teary-eyed smile. 

By the time AJ finished reading the short book, Shiro had to wipe his face on his sleeve a few times. “Uncle Shirwo that was the best book I ever read!” She stood in her chair and folded her arms around him. 

He hugged her back tightly and sniffed as quietly as he could manage. “Thanks, kiddo. I'm really glad you liked it.” His voice was raspy with emotion. 

AJ beamed. “I loved it!” She reared back into her chair and launched herself at Keith. “Your drawings are so pretty! I wanna draw as good as you some day!” 

Keith patted her on the back and gave a light hug in return when she showed no sign of relenting. “Happy birthday, AJ,” he said warmly, voice thick. 

Melenor pressed a kiss to the top of Shiro's head and reached around AJ to pat Keith's arm. “That was lovely, boys. Thank you.” 

They both gave her a smile as she grabbed AJ to take the book inside where it wouldn't get dirty. Shiro followed her with his eyes until she disappeared from beyond the kitchen before looking back to Keith. His head was roving around the yard in concern. 

“Something wrong?” Shiro asked, reaching out unconsciously to lay his hand on Keith's.

Keith turned back to him anxiously. “Have you seen Kosmo?” 

Shiro stood and looked at the open back gate. Keith was already walking as quickly as he could, darting around yawning children falling asleep in their parents’ laps. They both sighed in relief as they saw a white poofy tail hanging over the side of the cart attached to Keith's motorcycle. 

“Guess he didn't like the power wheels,” Shiro said with a nervous chuckle. The realization that he and Keith were alone in the front yard had his heart hammering against his ribs. 

Keith ran a soothing hand over the cowering lump at the bottom of the car. “Should probably get him home, he's really scared,” he murmured in quiet disappointment. 

Shiro approached cautiously and held out his hand for Kosmo to sniff. Kosmo batted it with his nose, prompting a few good head pats. “The kids are probably gonna head out soon anyway, everyone's worn out.” He tried not to let his own disappointment show through. 

“Forgot your painting,” Keith said, thumping his palm against his forehead in frustration. 

Shiro chuckled, bumping their shoulders together. “Likely story, you just wanted an excuse to hang out with me one more time before I go home,” he teased with a coy smile.  

Keith shook his head and Shiro could only just make out the furious blush on his face in the dying light. “I didn't, I swear. It was an accident.” 

“I'm glad you did,” Shiro whispered, letting his hand fall from Kosmo's head so he could face Keith. It was hard to breathe, taking in the way Keith was smiling at him. He shuffled a little closer. “I was worried I was going to have to come up with an excuse myself if you hadn't.” He reached up, wanting to cup Keith's chin in his hand, but lost his nerve and let it rest on Keith's shoulder instead. 

Keith leaned into the touch, eyes searching Shiro's face. Searching it for what, Shiro wasn't certain. “Don't need an excuse to hang out with me, Kashi,” he murmured almost breathlessly. 

_ Kiss him!  _ something in the back of Shiro's mind screamed. He took another shuffle-step closer and tilted his head down, heart racing as Keith's arms rose to rest on his chest. Mere inches before their lips could meet, the front door opened and Keith jumped back like he'd been burned. Shiro turned his head to see a man holding a goodie bag and a sleeping boy in his arms, making his way to one of the many cars parked around the street. 

He turned back to Keith and laughed uncomfortably. “I guess just… message me when you get home? We can work out the details?” 

Keith nodded, grabbing his helmet and wrestling Kosmo's goggles over his ears. “Tell AJ I say happy birthday and thanks for having me!” He shouted as the engine rumbled to life. 

Shiro held up a hand to wave goodbye and watched him drive off down the road before heading back inside through the front door. He felt like he’d made a mistake somehow, like maybe he’d overstepped a boundary he hadn’t know Keith had, but he wasn’t sure what he could have done differently. Fretting over it would only make it worse, he knew, so he tried to put it out of his mind as he went to find AJ and tell her that Kosmo and Keith had left. Melenor stopped him as soon as he was back in the kitchen. 

“Takashi, a word?” She asked, using a tone that made the hair on the back of Shiro’s neck stand on end. He felt like he was being sent to the principal’s office as she pulled him into Romelle’s office. “I want to send your book to a friend of mine,” she said flatly, staring at him expectantly. 

Shiro blinked in confusion. “Uh, sure, I guess.” He rubbed the back of head uncomfortably. “If they want me to make one for their kid I’m probably going to be too busy for a while, and it’ll have to wait until Keith has more commission slots open.” 

“No, no, dear. He doesn’t have children,” Melenor said with a grin. “But he  _ does  _ have a publishing company.” 

Shiro’s jaw dropped and he felt like his lungs had stopped working as he tried to take a deep breath. “Oh,” he squeaked. 

* * *

 

Shiro hardly remembered the rest of AJ’s party; Melenor’s news had put him in a trance. It was hard not to get his hopes up, though he was sure her friend received many unsolicited books from well-meaning friends. He’d been so excited to tell Keith the news that their awkward exchange had faded from his mind as they chatted late into the night, only remembering once Keith had mentioned he was busy on Saturday but could give Shiro his gift on Sunday.

They’d set a tentative meeting time for 8:00 in the park, and Shiro felt a little guilty rushing through AJ’s story time so he wouldn’t be late. Sven and Romelle made him promise to be quiet when he got back, but left the door unlocked and front porch light on for him when he left. He couldn’t help but take off at a run.  

The sun had set only a few hours before, but the air was already turning chilly. It felt good against his flushed skin as he slowed to a walk, hoping to catch his breath before Keith saw what state he was in. They hadn't agreed upon a specific meeting place, but Shiro shoved his hands in his pockets and made his way toward the bench where they'd eaten ice cream. 

Just as he’d hoped, Keith was sitting there, arms crossed and staring at the ground, the binder with the picture inside next to him. 

“This seat taken?” He asked with a shy smile as he approached the empty side of the bench. 

Keith jumped, swiveling his head to the side. His posture softened and he gave Shiro a heart-stopping smile. “Hey,” he murmured softly, scooting over to make room for Shiro next to him. 

Shiro sat, throwing his arm around the bench behind Keith’s back. The air between them felt charged somehow, it made Shiro nervous and the doubts from Friday crept back in. Was Keith uncomfortable being around him now? He’d seemed fine when they chatted online. 

Keith sat the binder in his lap and Shiro was torn from his thoughts. “Sucks that you have to leave tomorrow.” Keith crossed his arms again as soon as Shiro sat a steadying hand on the plastic. 

Shiro sighed, fiddling with a small tear in the film on the binder’s corner. “Yeah, it’s been really nice to be back. Honestly, I don’t really wanna go.” He tried to laugh, but it sounded bitter even to his own ears. 

Keith grunted, kicking absently at a rock buried in the dirt in front of them. 

“Is uh,” Shiro licked his lips and tried to slow his pounding heart. “Is something wrong? If you’re upset about Friday, I’d really like the chance to apologize for-” Shiro’s words were cut off as Keith twisted on the bench and pressed their lips together. 

Shiro was stunned for a moment, long enough that Keith tried to pull away, but Shiro moved his hand from the back of the bench to cup Keith’s jaw, finally gathering his wits enough to kiss back. He savored the feeling, it was leagues better than the frankly embarrassing number of times he’d imagined it. 

He couldn’t stifle the hum of pleasure vibrating in his throat as he blindly set the binder back on Keith’s other side and rested his hand on Keith’s hip, deepening the kiss. Keith’s hands gripped tightly at the short hair behind Shiro’s ears on either side of his head, but Shiro was the farthest he could possibly be from upset about it. Especially as Keith’s tongue gently slid along his bottom lip. 

Shiro couldn’t have said how long they stayed on the bench, but it was long enough for him to learn every intimate detail of Keith’s mouth and burn it into his memory. Keith pulled away first, long after Shiro’s neck had gotten stiff and his left leg had fallen asleep. He still missed the contact immensely as Keith stared up at him in equal parts fear and awe. 

“I should, I should probably go,” Keith mumbled, dropping his hands to Shiro’s shoulders. He made no further move to leave. 

Shiro cleared his throat and trailed his thumb over Keith’s cheek. “I could walk you home,” he offered quietly.

Keith shook his head and swallowed hard, staring at his hands instead of looking into Shiro’s eyes. “That’s not a good idea, maybe next time.” 

Shiro nodded, a small pang of disappointment spoiling the hope that  _ next time  _ brought with it. “Can I have another kiss for the road?” His voice shook a little.

Keith looked up and gave him a shy smile before obliging. It was a gentle slide of lips that lasted only a moment, but it left Shiro just as breathless as their first kiss had. 

“Call me when you get home tomorrow,” Keith all but whispered against his lips. 

Before Shiro could respond, Keith was on his feet, stalking away from the bench at a near-jog. Shiro watched him go, a disbelieving hand pressing two fingers to his swollen bottom lip. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen... I have nothing to say for myself. Chapter 8 is probably going to be the last one, but honestly, who knows lmao

Shiro’s back and shoulders crackled and popped like glow sticks as he stretched his tight limbs. Being crammed into two different airplanes and then having to take a cramped bus back from the airport had left him tired, sore, and in desperate need of a shower. The thud of his backpack against the floor of his bedroom seemed to echo throughout the empty apartment after spending a week in a house always bustling with people. 

It had been near torture to keep himself from texting Keith all day, especially with Romelle’s interspersed “has he texted you yet?” messages and pictures of AJ happily rereading her new book. Shiro forced himself to let his family know he’d gotten home safely and start his laundry before sitting down on the couch to boot up his laptop. It seemed to take ages to log in and he had to fight with the wifi for ten minutes before realizing his default network was still set to Sven’s. 

Discord finally loaded and Shiro took a deep breath before clicking on Keith’s icon. 

trekashi: hey, finally home 

Keith responded almost immediately and Shiro’s heart leapt into his throat. 

t-storm: :)

t-storm: How was your flight?

Shiro smiled and set his laptop back on his thighs.

trekashi: long but nothing too crazy. I can't wait to shower, I feel gross

t-storm: lol flying commercial will do that 

trekashi: @ science, hurry up and make teleporters

t-storm: for real scotty wyd??

Shiro couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up from his chest and shook his shoulders. He sent back a series of laughing faces but didn't know how else to respond. His pulse was thunder in his ears as he tried to come up with a way to ask if Keith was ready to talk about what happened. The irony of spending all of his free time writing dramatic love confessions and romantic conversations, yet being clueless of how to proceed in his own love life, was not lost on him. 

t-storm: so

t-storm: we should probably talk 

Even knowing the suggestion was coming did nothing to prevent the jolt of pure panic that shot down Shiro’s spine. 

trekashi: yeah

trekashi: you ready? 

The green join call button lit up on Shiro's screen and he had to take a deep breath before answering. 

"Hey Keith." He was more proud than he probably should have been that his voice didn't shake. 

"Hey Kashi." Keith was so quiet Shiro had to turn up the volume on his computer.

A long, uncomfortable silence stretched between them and Shiro couldn't help but laugh after a few moments. His badly stifled giggles set Keith off on a fit of his own and soon they were laughing so much Shiro had tears pricking the corners of his eyes. 

He finally managed to calm himself down enough to take a few ragged breaths. "I'm sorry, it's not funny. I don't know why I did that." 

"It's a little funny," Keith replied, tone embarrassed but amused. He paused for a few seconds before blurting, "Can we video instead?"

The abruptness of the request surprised Shiro but he quickly gathered his wits. “Yeah, sure. Fair warning, I’m kind of a mess from the flight and getting fondled by TSA 40 times because of my arm,” he replied with an awkward laugh. 

Keith’s face flickered on his screen and Shiro hovered over the video button for a moment before pressing it. The soft smile that slowly drifted onto Keith’s lips brought a matching one to Shiro’s.

“So,” Shiro started, licking his lips and adjusting the pillows next to him just for something to busy his hands. “Here we are.” 

Keith nodded and crossed his arms. “Yep.” 

“Keith, we don’t have to talk about this. We can pretend it never happened if that’s what you want.” The thought broke Shiro’s heart but he couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness upon seeing Keith’s obvious discomfort. 

He rolled his eyes. “Like either of us could even do that if we wanted to.” Keith’s voice was a low growl. “Cards on the table: I’m not good at relationships but I really like you.” 

Shiro blinked in stunned silence at the blunt statement. A blush dusted his cheeks as the words finally sank in. “I like you too, Keith,” he whispered breathlessly. 

Keith ducked his head behind his hair to hide his eyes, but Shiro could still see his grin. “Kinda figured.” 

“Really? I thought I was being pretty sneaky about it.” He held in his laughter until Keith’s head snapped up incredulously and their eyes met. 

“Stop making me laugh, this is serious!” Keith said in between snickers. 

Shiro sighed and rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. “I know. It is. Of course it is. Things have just always been so easy between us, and I don’t want that to change.” 

“Me either,” Keith murmured, looking away again. “Doesn’t have to, right?” He frowned down at spot on his desk that Shiro couldn’t see and his posture went rigid again.

“Keith, look at me. Please.” Shiro tried his best to keep his voice steady despite the pounding in his chest when Keith’s eyes met his. “We’ll figure it out as we go, what matters is we have each other. We’ve basically been dating for months anyway. At least if you ask Matt.” He let himself chuckle and smile more lightheartedly than he felt. It seemed to brighten Keith’s mood a little. 

After a few moments, Keith’s shoulders finally relaxed and the corner of his mouth ticked up again. “My cousin’s been asking when we’re getting married since Christmas.” 

They laughed together again and moved the conversation to less heavy topics for over an hour until Shiro noticed the time. 

“Ugh, I really need to finish my laundry and take a shower. Work tomorrow,” Shiro moaned with an exaggerated sigh. 

Keith laughed and shook his head. “Get some rest, Kashi. Talk to you tomorrow.” 

Shiro stretched and yawned. “Don’t act like I’m not gonna text you as soon as I get in bed.” 

“Talk to you soon, then,” Keith corrected with a shy smile. 

Shiro nodded and almost said goodbye, but hesitated. Instead of closing their chat, he brought his index finger to his lips and pressed a kiss to it before touching it to his webcam. Keith closed the window immediately. 

trekashi: too much?

t-storm: you’re a dork and I hate how cute that was

t-storm: go shower

trekashi: yes sir :)

t-storm: >:(

* * *

Things did change, of course, but they were mostly for the better, at least to Shiro. After a few more slightly awkward conversations that devolved into fits of giggles and good-natured teasing, they'd both agreed to make things “official” on their social media accounts. 

“Got a good one today,” Keith said with a barely concealed snort of laughter. 

Shiro clicked away from the fic he was working on to their chat window to wait for Keith's most recent obnoxious anonymous message. They'd both been getting a slew of well-meaning but often hilarious congratulations and commentary on their new relationship since they made their announcements. One of the best parts of Shiro's day was when they were both online, and a large part of those daily conversations had become the highlight reel of  _ those  _ messages. The screenshot popped up in the window and Shiro was laughing before he'd even finished reading it. 

_ You and trekashi?? hhnnngggg niiceeee!!!! Holy shit bro I've never been into RPF but I might have to start  _

“Wow, I can't believe we have a fandom. I feel so honored.” Shiro shook his head even though he knew Keith couldn't see him. 

“So what's our ship name?” He could hear the smirk in Keith's voice. 

Shiro let out a heavy sigh and ran his hand through his hair. “I don't know, I'm so bad at this.” 

Keith let out a dissatisfied hum but didn't say anything. The silence stretched on for a long moment before Shiro finally broke. 

“Trekashi-storm-darkness?” Shiro's face heated as Keith's chuckle crackled over his headphones. “Well, I don't hear you suggesting anything,” he mumbled under his breath but couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face. 

“Sorry, sorry. Good effort,” Keith said without bothering to hide the mirth in his voice. 

“Trekashik?” 

Keith hummed thoughtfully. “That's not bad.” The modest praise made Shiro preen. “How about Krekashi?” 

Shiro laughed and hit the video button, grinning when Keith answered right away. “This is the dumbest thing we've ever talked about.” 

Keith smiled mischievously and tapped his chin. “You think so? We spent four hours arguing about which Zelda game was the best last weekend.” 

“And it's still  _ Majora's Mask _ , but that was an important relationship-building conversation. This is just silly.”

“Funny way to pronounce  _ Ocarina of Time,  _ but ok,” Keith replied with another smirk. “Anyway, I'm telling our fans that's our official ship name and to tag us in all fanworks.” 

Shiro dropped his head into his hands. “Oh god, what have you started?” 

Keith let out a laugh not unlike a hyena and ducked his head to type furiously at his keyboard. Shiro could only wait in amused, yet horrified, silence until the notification that he had been tagged in a post popped up on his phone. 

True to his word, Keith’s post read: 

**_Attention Nerds_ **

_ Your favorite artist (me) and favorite writer (@trekashi) are now dating. We have been for a couple of months, actually. Fanworks are heavily encouraged unless you don’t tag us, in which case we’ll sue you. Have a day.  _

Shiro let out a choked-off snort and reblogged the post with an addition.

_ He meant have a nice day :)  _

Keith didn’t even crack a smile or look up at his webcam before reblogging it again. 

_ No I didn't. I’m not your mom. Have whatever kinda day you want.  _

“Keith!” Shiro wailed through his laughter, shoulders shaking. 

Keith’s cheshire grin set Shiro off even more and soon they were both in tears. “You’re the worst,” Shiro panted as he tried desperately to suck air into his protesting lungs. 

“Don’t lie, you love me.” Keith’s face went bright red and their laughter died as soon as the words left his mouth. 

Shiro stared at Keith’s stunned expression on his screen with his lips parted, mouth suddenly dry. 

“I just meant, like,” Keith stammered. “Never mind. Forget I said that, it was stupid. Was just messing around.” He cleared his throat and looked away from his screen. 

“Keith,” Shiro said in an awed whisper. At the sound of his voice, Keith turned his head back toward his webcam, but his long hair obscured his face from view. Shiro wished more than anything that he could reach through his screen and cup Keith’s cheek, hold him close. “I do, actually.” He realized it was true as he said it. 

“What?” Keith’s brows were furrowed and his eyes were bouncing between his camera and where Shiro assumed his own image was on Keith’s monitor. 

A smile spread across his face and he felt his cheeks heat. “I love you.” The words felt right, even though Shiro wished he could have said them in person. He watched Keith’s neck move, swallowing down words Shiro desperately wanted to hear, but didn’t want to force. “I know it’s a little soon for that, don’t feel like you have to say it back.” 

Keith barely waited for him to finish before replying. “I love you, too.”

“Wow,” Shiro murmured, wide grin splitting his beet-red face. 

Keith cleared his throat. “Yeah.” He smiled up into his webcam before ducking his head away again.

“Wow,” Shiro repeated.

“Kashi…” he grumbled, crossing his arms. “Stop saying wow.” 

Shiro shook his head and chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. “Right. Sorry. Brain sort of… short-circuited.” Keith let out an amused huff but didn’t offer anything else. “So… what else is new? Besides loving me,” Shiro finally said with a cheeky grin. 

“That’s not new.” Keith’s immediate response had Shiro’s blush spreading up to the tips of his ears. “But uh, been thinking about getting another tattoo,” Keith added with a forced nonchalance that Shiro could see through even from the less-than-stellar webcam resolution. 

“Do you have a drawing yet?” His smile widened and he leaned closer to the screen with his chin resting on his fists. 

Keith smiled and Shiro heard him click a few times before a new message alert popped up in the corner of his screen. “It's in the server. Lemme know what you think.” 

Shiro clicked eagerly away from the video call to their discord server. The image that greeted him there made his heart swell with fondness and he couldn’t fight down the laughter that bubbled out. It was a perfectly rendered phaser from The Original Series, shooting a beautiful stream of flowers that almost looked like they were glowing. A ribbon of elegant, swirling text around the top of the gun read  _ Live long and prosper, motherfuckers _ . 

“Keith,” Shiro half-snorted and covered his mouth to keep from dissolving into another fit of laughter. “It’s perfect. It’s so you.” 

Keith’s face lit up on the screen and a faint dust of blush spread across his cheeks. “You think so?” 

Shiro nodded. “It’s amazing. Where are you getting it?” 

“Inside forearm. I’m running out of real estate.” 

Shiro’s eyebrows shot up. “You know, I can’t believe I’ve never asked about your tattoos. I’m sure you have a bunch?” 

The way Keith’s whole face brightened when he was passionate about something never failed to send a torrent of butterflies swimming in Shiro’s stomach, and there was almost nothing he was more passionate about than his art. “Yeah, you uh, you wanna see?” He licked his lips and looked away from the camera. 

“Absolutely!” Shiro agreed without hesitation. He adjusted his screen and maximized the video chat so he could see better. 

The color drained from his face and was quickly replaced with flaming red as Keith pulled off his jacket and then his t-shirt, leaving him in only a tank top. Colorful swirls of ink jutted out from the arm and neck holes of the cloth. “Start with my favorites, I guess.” Keith’s face was almost as red as Shiro’s. 

“This is my pop’s old truck,” he said softly, pulling back one of the thin straps to reveal a fire engine overlaid on top of a badge, the number 68 gleaming brightly in black against the red truck. “He’s retired now, got hurt in action a couple years back, but the whole squad’s still like family.” 

Shiro melted a little and knew from the discerning expression Keith shot him that it showed on his face. “That’s a really cool tattoo. Did you design it yourself?” 

Keith nodded and pulled back the other sleeve, revealing a starfleet insignia fading from yellow at the top right to blue at the bottom left. Shiro sucked in a harsh breath and covered his mouth with his hand to stifle his laugh. “You dork! I love it!” 

Keith beamed at Shiro, leaning toward the camera with a smug, conspiratorial grin. “That’s not even the worst one.” 

“Oh really?” Shiro tried his best to keep his voice steady despite Keith’s playful smirk quickening his pulse.

Keith stood and reached for his belt and Shiro’s eyes went wide. He let out a quiet gasp before he could stop himself and Keith paused to tilt the camera up. “Probably… Probably should have mentioned it’s on my thigh. Is that… is that okay?” 

Shiro’s tongue felt like sandpaper in his suddenly dry mouth. “Uh,” he cleared his throat and tried again, “Yeah, sure.” 

Keith gave him a shy smile and made quick work of his jeans, adjusting the camera down again. Shiro had nearly died the first time he’d seen a picture of Keith’s gorgeous legs in shorts all those months ago, and he was sure that his heart had actually stopped beating seeing them only covered to mid-thigh by boxers. It took everything in him just to remember how to breathe. 

It felt like the world was going in slow motion as Keith rolled up the end of his shorts on his right leg. Each millimeter of exposed skin felt like a fist clenching around Shiro’s lungs. His eyes couldn’t even focus enough to process the image as anything more than a green and blue blob and it took a herculean force of will to keep his eyes from drifting up and to the left. 

“Shiro? I think the video froze.” 

Keith’s voice jarred Shiro enough to sputter back into some semblance of alertness. His eyes focused on the tattoo finally and he pushed himself away from his desk, shuddering with laughter. “No!” It came out a strangled squeal. 

“Yup.” Keith let his lips pop around the ‘p’ sound and sat back in his chair with a self satisfied grin. 

It took Shiro a moment to collect himself long enough to speak. “I can’t believe you.” 

Keith just shrugged and let his smirk melt into a fond smile. “You have a really nice laugh.” 

The unexpected comment threw Shiro for a loop and he found himself blushing again. “Hey, don’t change the subject. When did you get that monstrosity?” 

_ “Monstrosity!”  _ Keith reared back, putting a hand over his chest in mock-offense. “You used to write Scooby Doo fanfic, you don’t get to call the Mystery Machine a monstrosity!” 

Shiro cringed through his laughter. “Ok, fair point. But seriously?” 

Keith rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “Was my first one. I was like 16. Regris did it in his kitchen after Antok went to bed.” 

Shiro shook his head and scooted closer to the desk again. “So what other cursed tattoos do you have?”

“Most of the rest are just stuff I thought looked cool.” His cheeks darkened again. “If you want, I can uh…” He trailed off and tugged at his shirt. 

A lump formed in Shiro’s throat at the thought and he tried to swallow past it. “I’d love to see them.” His voice came out much huskier than he’d intended, but the twitch of a smile on Keith’s lips at the tone had his heart hammering so fast he was sure he’d break a rib.

Keith took a deep breath and pulled his shirt off in one fluid motion, leaving him in just his underwear. His entire chest was like a canvas, patterns and colors and scenes spreading across every inch of skin. Some had clearly been planned to go together, but mostly were patchwork, somehow still fitting into the chaotic fray to make a stunningly gorgeous whole.

“Wow… Keith, that’s amazing.” Shiro’s mouth hung open, staring in awe at the screen. He wished more than anything he could reach out and run his hands across Keith’s chest. 

Keith shrugged, aiming for a nonchalance that his flushed cheeks belied. He cleared his throat and grinned into the camera. “Alright, I showed you mine, now you gotta show me yours.” 

An awkward silence passed between them as Shiro tried to make sense of the words. “I… Keith, I don’t have any tattoos,” he murmured, pulse quickening at the hungry amusement on Keith’s face.

“Wasn’t talking about tattoos, Kashi.”

Shiro blinked twice and all of the blood rushed from his head. “Oh,” he whispered. “Oh!” 

He reached up with his left hand, fingers trailing along the bumpy ridges of scar and metal hidden underneath his shirt. Keith gently calling his name drew his eyes from his sleeve back to the screen. 

“You don’t have to if you’re not ready, but I promise it’s worse in your head.” All the playfulness left Keith’s face. 

He stared into the camera with a genuine concern that made Shiro’s stomach flutter and filled him with courage. Shiro took a deep breath and reached up behind his head, yanking the shirt off before he could second-guess himself.

Later that evening, texting Keith from under his covers, he knew it was night he’d remember fondly for the rest of his life.

* * *

Shiro had been staring at his phone so long the screen had shut off and his own blank face was staring back at him in the black reflection. His chest expanded with slow, measured breaths despite the rapid thundering of his heart. The last few minutes of his lunch hour were ticking away as he stared, and he had to shake his head to snap himself out of the trance. 

He almost texted, but opened Discord to message Keith instead. 

trekashi: We need to talk about something awkward when we both get home

Shiro checked the time, wondering if Keith would already be in the studio or if he’d still be walking Kosmo before heading in for his first appointment of the day. He didn’t have to wonder long. 

t-storm: :( What is it

It was a difficult question to answer without having to launch into a lengthy explanation Shiro’s schedule couldn’t handle. Between status meetings, design reviews, and all the work his program manager was breathing down his neck for, today was the first day Shiro had actually been able to eat lunch away from his desk in weeks. He worried at his lower lip with his teeth as he tried to decide how to form his response. 

trekashi: Money stuff and AJ’s book 

He hoped that would be enough to put Keith’s mind at ease but not enough to warrant further questions that would have to be left unread for the next several hours. 

t-storm: Sounds cool, should be home around 8 your time. 

Shiro smiled at the message, glad he could always count on Keith to say exactly what he needed to hear without even knowing. 

trekashi: Cool

trekashi: Love you :) 

t-storm: <3 

Shiro’s afternoon meetings went as well as he’d come to expect them to: rather poorly. Normally he made sure to bring his A game and answer questions politely and succinctly, but his mind kept wandering back to his phone call and the talk he needed to have with Keith that night. His coworkers could generously be described as abrasive at the best of times, but Shiro’s obviously distracted state roiled them into a near fury. By the time five o’clock rolled around, he almost felt lucky to be leaving with his head still on his shoulders. 

The train ride home was when Shiro usually checked his comments or worked through his latest sticking point on what he was writing, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t focus. Even when he returned to the comfort of his apartment, his mind was a maelstrom and he missed the constant distraction of Matt’s presence. 

Two hours ticked by like centuries as Shiro endlessly scrolled his various accounts and tried to let his mind go blank in front of the television, to no avail. Finally his phone buzzed with a notification from Keith. He hit dial as soon as he read the “just got home” message. Keith picked up on the first ring. 

“Hey Kashi, everything oka-” 

Shiro’s whirling mind exploded as soon as he heard Keith’s voice. “That publisher Sven’s mother-in-law knows called me today,” he blurted in a messy jumble of words that he hoped came out at least partially intelligible. 

Keith let out a startled gasp as soon as he could make sense of what Shiro said. “Kashi! That’s amazing! What did they say?” 

“They loved our book,” he said with an awed chuckle. “They want to sell it. Three percent royalties each, and that’s not even the best part.” He paused for dramatic effect, shoulders tensing as he waited for Keith to ask. 

Keith laughed and Shiro could hear the smile in his voice. “What’s the best part, then?” 

“They want to give us an  _ eight thousand dollar  _ advance for another one!” Shiro was grinning so hard his face hurt, but the swell of worry he’d been trying to stave off all day returned with a vengeance. “If uh, well, if you’re in, I mean.” 

The line was silent for a few seconds and Shiro’s heart leapt into his throat awaiting Keith’s response. 

“Kashi, I...” Keith trailed off and took another few moments to collect himself. “You commissioned me for the book. It’s yours to sell. And ‘course I’m in for another one, but I think you should keep the advance.” 

Shiro frowned, choosing his words carefully. “I’m not destitute or anything, Keith. I was more excited about actually having a publisher interested than the money. You did half the work, you should get half of the pay.” He was a little offended at the implication but tried not to let it leak into his voice. 

“I know, I know, but… an eight grand advance might be enough for you to move back here. Mom says it’s easier to find a job when you’re local.” 

Shiro swallowed past the lump that formed in his throat. Of course that’s what Keith would be concerned about. He knew that Shiro had been looking for work closer to home for months with very limited success and his chest ached with longing for Keith to be right.

“I… Yeah, actually. But I wouldn’t feel right taking all of it since you did half the work. And there’s a lot more to consider.” 

Keith let out a frustrated growl. “I just want you to be here, I don’t care about the money. What else do you need to think about?”  

Shiro knew Keith wasn’t frustrated with him, just the situation, but he couldn’t shake off the prickle of annoyance. “I don’t know, Keith. I don’t think I can make a living as an author for kids’ books. What if I end up not being able to find anything? Plus rent is so expensive, there’s no way I’d be able to live anywhere halfway decent for longer than a month or two.” His irritation waned abruptly and exhaustion set in.  

“That’s fair,” Keith murmured, sounding as tired as Shiro felt. “I just want you to be happy, Kashi.”    
  
The softness in Keith’s tone heaped guilt upon Shiro’s weariness. “I guess I need to think about it some more. Can we talk about this later? I think I need to sleep on it.”    
  
“‘Course, take all the time you need.” 

“Thanks, Keith.” 

“I love you.” 

“I love you, too.” 

* * *

Anxiety surged in Shiro's stomach like a storm at sea. He'd already been sick at work after  _ the incident,  _ as he was sure it would be known for several weeks if not months, and had decided to leave early. The throbbing in his head started to ebb as he sat on the couch, sipping slowly at a glass of water. He hadn't bothered turning his laptop off the night before and it still sat in sleep mode on the coffee table in front of him. 

The more he tried to think, the more his stomach roiled, so he grabbed his laptop and logged in as quickly as he could to message Keith. 

trekashi: hey can you talk 

t-storm: one sec 

A few moments later, the video chat icon lit up and Shiro clicked it before he could give himself the chance to talk himself out of it. 

“Kashi? You okay?” Keith sounded as worried as Shiro felt and he couldn’t tamp down the nervous laugh that bubbled up. 

“Uhhh,” Shiro started, pausing to quell another surge of nausea with a careful sip of water. “I quit my job.” 

Keith stared blankly at him for what felt like hours, but couldn’t have been more than seconds. “Wh… uhhh… Uhm.” 

“Yeah.” 

Shiro watched Keith’s face flicker between concern and confusion before settling somewhere in between. “What happened?” 

It was an excellent question, one Shiro wasn’t sure he knew how to answer. “I was in a meeting.” He paused to breathe and gather his thoughts. Keith leaned a little closer to his desk and reached down to pat Kosmo’s head as he listened intently. 

“Well, this customer has been the biggest asshole imaginable for almost a year and my team never has my back, they all suck.” The memory reignited his temper, melting the ice that had formed in Shiro’s veins throughout the afternoon. “So I left the meeting room, marched into Sanda’s office and told her I wasn’t working with Slav or those bastards anymore.” 

Keith blinked in surprise. “Wow, Kashi. Good for you. Glad you stood up for yourself.” 

Shiro nodded, feeling better as he spoke. “Yeah, they really suck and I couldn’t take it. So she said that I had to finish the contract because I was the lead engineer and I…” Color returned to his pale cheeks and blossomed into a bright red. “I told her that didn’t work for me and I was done. Went right down to HR to schedule my exit interview.” 

A low whistle crackled in the speakers. “That’s so badass.” A wide grin slowly spread across Keith’s face. 

With a deep sigh, Shiro let himself melt into the couch and ran a hand through his hair. “I have plenty of money in savings, so I’m not panicking about it but…” He trailed off and grimaced. 

“But you’re panicking a little about it?” Keith offered with a laugh. 

Shiro nodded and took a long sip of the water, hoping the cold would help his flushed face. “My rent’s going up next month. What I have will cover it for a while, but...” 

Keith hummed in thought and snorted a short laugh. “Maybe Sven and Romelle are in the market for a Manny,” he suggested with a smirk. 

“A what!?” Shiro cackled incredulously. “Did you just say  _ Manny?”  _

Keith grinned. “Come on, AJ loves you. You miss being here. It’d help your family and be way cheaper for you. Why not?” 

At first the suggestion seemed insane, but as the seconds ticked by Shiro couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it. Every time he’d spoken to his brother or sister-in-law since his last visit they’d mentioned missing him and how much help he’d been with AJ. With the book deal plus Matt and Pidge constantly reassuring him they were still doing as much as they could to get a position opened up for him...

“Oh my god,” Shiro all but whispered. “Oh my god!” He repeated louder, springing up from the couch with a half-crazed laugh. “Keith, my rent is going up because I have to renew my lease next month! This is perfect! I could just… I could go home instead!” 

Keith’s smile widened and his eyes grew soft. “Call your brother.” 

“Yes! Yeah, absolutely. Oh my god.” Shiro ran his hand through his hair again and picked up his laptop, kissing the small black dot of a webcam. “You’re a genius, Keith!” 

After a few minutes of panicking and swearing and a little bit of insulting, Sven put his phone on speaker and filled Romelle in on Shiro’s suggestion. She was beyond thrilled and fully supportive, reminding Sven of how many times he’d said he wanted Shiro to quit. Minor quibbling ensued about the logistics, but after a lengthy discussion, everything was set. 

Shiro was going home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge shoutout to avidbeader on twitter for the beta help for this chapter! Also to wicoppi for dragging me through the previous 400 drafts this chapter ended up taking to finish. 
> 
> I'm lonely and you should join me on [pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.social/lasersheith).


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